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Slovakization

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Approximate area in south Slovakia inhabited by ethnic Hungarians. Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority of Slovakia, numbering 520,528 people or 9.7% of population (2001 census)
  50-100%
  10-50%
  0-10%

Slovakization is a term describing a state-assisted, sometimes forcible[1][2][3][4] process of assimilation by which non-Slovak minorities adopt the Slovak culture and language.

The term is used for example in relation to Hungarians,[5] Ukrainians, Rusyns (Ruthenians),[6] Poles,[7] Germans[5] and Jews.[8] Slovakization refers to both the government policies in Slovakia and the former Czechoslovakia in which people were made to become Slovak.

Hungarians

After WWI

Further information: Hungarians in Slovakia
Map showing the border changes after the Treaty of Trianon. As a result, Hungary lost over two-thirds of its territory, about two-thirds of its inhabitants under the treaty and 3.3 million out of 10 million ethnic Hungarians.[9][10] (Based on the 1910 census.)

After the defeat of the remaining Hungarian armies in 1919 the Paris Peace Conference that concluded the Treaty of Trianon in 1920 set the southern border of Czechoslovakia due to strategic and economic reasons much further south than the Slovak-Hungarian language border.[11] Consequently, fully Hungarian-populated areas were annexed to the newly created state.[12]

When Czechoslovakia arose as a new country in this situation, previously prohibited[citation needed] Slovak schools were established, while some Hungarian schools in largely Hungarian regions remained Hungarian and some German schools in largely German regions remained German.[citation needed] The Hungarians, for example, had 31 kindergartens, 806 elementary schools, 46 secondary schools, 576 Hungarian libraries at schools in the 1930s and a Department of Hungarian literature was created at the Charles University of Prague.[citation needed] The number of Hungarian elementary schools increased from 720 in 1923/1924 to the above number 806.[13] The Hungarian University in Bratislava/Pozsony was immediately closed after formation of Czechoslovakia [14]

According to the 1910 census conducted by the Central Statistical Office of Hungary, there were 884,309 people with Hungarian as a mother tongue, constituting 30.2% of the population, in what is now Slovakia compared to the 9.7% number recorded in the 2001 census, amounting to a 3 fold decrease in the percentage of Hungarians.[15][16] The first Slovak census in 1919 in what is now Slovakia recorded 689,565 Hungarians constituting 23.59% of the population. According to the first Czechoslovak census in 1921 there were 650,597 Hungarians in Slovakia, constituting 21.68% of the population.[17] The Czechoslovak census of 1930 recorded 571,952 Hungarians. All censuses from the period are disputed, and some give conflicting data for example in Kosice according to the Czechoslovak censuses 15-20% of the population was Hungarian. However during the parliamentary elections the Ethnic Hungarian parties got 35-45% of the total votes (excluding those Hungarians who voted for the Communists or the Social democrats).[18] The whole matter is complicated by the fact that there was a high percentage of bilingual and similarly "Slovak-Hungarian" persons who could claim being both Slovak and Hungarian.

Slovak sources usually do not deny that many Hungarian teachers (replaced in Slovak schools by Slovak and Czech teachers), railwaymen (on strike against new Czechoslovak republic on February, 1919),[19] postmen, policemen, soldiers and civil clerks (replaced by Czech and Slovak soldiers, policemen and clerks) were forced to leave or left for Hungary voluntarily, the numbers however are unclear but census do show a rapid decline in the number of people with Hungarian as a mother tongue. Some teachers and civil servants were expelled from Czechoslovakia while some left due to the harsh circumstances. There are many examples of Hungarians who were forced to leave their homes from this territory (two famous ones are the families of Béla Hamvas,[20] and of Albert Szent-Györgyi). The high number of refugees (and even more from Romania) necessitated entire new housing projects in Budapest (Mária-Valéria telep, Pongrácz-telep), which gave shelter to refugees numbering at least in the ten-thousands.[21]

De-Magyarization

Linguistic map of Czechoslovakia (1930)
The statue of Maria Theresa in Bratislava before 1921...
...and shortly after its destruction.

During the Dual Monarchy there was strong anti-Hungarian sentiment among certain sections of the Czech and Slovak population,[22][23][24] and not surprisingly this persisted to some extent in Czechoslovakia. It seemed to hit the city of Pressburg (soon to be renamed Bratislava) the most: one of the very first measures brought by Samuel Zoch, the newly appointed župan of the city was the forced disbandment of the Elisabeth Science University, the only Hungarian university in Czechoslovakia, and the intimidation of its professors by the police in 1919, immediately after the formation of the country.[25] Most of the professors and former students then left Pressburg for Budapest (with the university later being re-established in Pécs). Zoch had previously stated "...but the question of minorities will be fully solved only after our public perception of morality will condemn ethnical oppression just as much as the oppression of religion".[26]

Tensions mounted further in Bratislava as soldiers of the Czechoslovakian legion fired volleys at civilians, leaving 7 dead and 23 wounded.[25] Most of these soldiers played the main part in the destruction of Hungarian and Habsburg statues and monuments.[27]

Another aspect of the anti-Hungarian sentiment was the hatred of all the statues and monuments representing Austria-Hungary or Hungarian historical people. National socialist MPs of the Czechoslovak National Assembly have been calling for the demolition of such works of art as early as 1920.[27] The hatred however was not limited to sculptures only: Hungarian books were burned in Poprad[28] and possibly other locations[29] as well. Concurrently some of the statues were destroyed as well: the millennium monument along with the Árpád statue in Devín was blown up using dynamite,[27][30] the statue of Maria Theresa in Bratislava (pictured) was brought down using ropes tied to trucks.[29] Statues of Lajos Kossuth were destroyed in Rožňava, Lučenec, Dobšiná and Nové Zámky,[30] also a statue of Ferenc Rákóczi in Brezno and numerous others.[27] In almost all of these cases the perpetrators were the soldiers of the Czechoslovakian legion.[27] The police and government officials watched the process idly and decided to intervene only after the mob had begun to take over shops and properties of German enterpreneurs.[27] Hungarians (and other minorities e.g. Germans and Rusyns) were excluded from the constituent assembly, barring them from having any influence on the new Czechoslovak constitution.[31] Later on, all the minorities gained the right to use their languages in municipalities where they constituted at least 20% of the population even in communication with government offices and courts. However due to gerrymandering and disproportionate distribution of population between Bohemia and Slovakia the Hungarians had little (if any) representation in the National Assembly and thus their influence on the politics of Czechoslovakia remained limited. The same considerations have limited the Slovak intelligentsia's political power as well.[31]

The aftermath of World War II

Preparations for a post-war Czechoslovak state without Hungarians

János Esterházy The saviour of hundreds, officially he is still classified as a war criminal in Slovakia, as courts have rejected requests for his rehabilitation.

In 1945, at the end of World War II, Czechoslovakia was recreated and Czechoslovak politicians aimed to completely remove the German and Hungarian minorities from the territory of Czechoslovakia via ethnic cleansing.[note 1] Both minorities were considered "war criminals" because representatives of those two minorities, such as Konrad Henlein and János Esterházy, and their two mother countries were instrumental in the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia before World War II, via the Munich Agreement and the Vienna Awards.[13][32] As Edvard Beneš said:

"After this war there will be no minority rights in the spirit of the old system which began after the First World War. After punishing all the delinquents who committed crimes against the state, the overwhelming majority of the Germans and Hungarians must leave Czechoslovakia. This is our resolute standpoint... Our people cannot live with the Germans and Hungarians in our fatherland."

— Edvard Beneš, 1945 [33]

During the last years of the war, Beneš, the leader of the Czechoslovak government-in-exile, worked toward resolving the minority problem of Czechoslovakia. This meant that the German and Hungarian minorities of Czechoslovakia had to be transferred or assimilated,[34][35] because they were the biggest obstacle standing in the way of forming postwar Czechoslovakia into a nation-state.[36] The idea that the Hungarian minority in Slovakia must be destroyed dominated Czechoslovak national policy for an extended period.[37] Meantime, Klement Gottwald, leader of the Czechoslovakian communists had set up a rival government in Moscow. In April 1945 Gottwald and Beneš met in Kosice and they created the new Czechoslovak government, the National Front which was a coalition of the Soviet supported Czechoslovak communists and non-communists. The members of this new political unity agreed that the country should be formed into a nation state.[34]

Edvard Beneš (1884-1948)

Soon, -under the supervision of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (bolsheviks)-[38] the National Front announced the "Košice Government Program" (Košický vládny program). After the proclamation of the program, the German and Hungarian population living in the reborn Czechoslovakia were subjected to various forms of persecution, including: expulsions, deportations, internments, peoples court procedures, citizenship revocations, property confiscation, condemnation to forced labour camps, and forced changes of ethnicity referred to as “reslovakization.” The Hungarian question is mainly dealt with in Chapters VIII; XI and XV out of the 16 chapters of the programme. Chapter VIII deprived the Hungarian and German inhabitants of their citizenship. Chapter XI declared the confiscation of Hungarian landed property while chapter XV ordered to close ethnic schools. From chapters VIII and IX, adopted by the cabinet council on April 5, 1945:[39]

"As to the Czechoslovak citizens of German and Hungarian nationality, who were Czechoslovak citizens prior to the Munich Pact in 1938, their citizenship will be confirmed and their eventual return to the Republic may be permitted only in the following categories: for anti-Nazis and anti-Fascists who fought against Henlein and Hungarian irredentism, who fought for Czechoslovakia, and who after the Munich Pact and after March 15 were persecuted for their loyalty to Czechoslovakia...The Czechoslovak citizenship of the other Czechoslovak German and Hungarian citizens will be cancelled. Although they may again express a choice for Czechoslovakia, public authorities will retain the right of individual decision."

— Chapters VIII and IX of the "Statute issued in Košice" (1945)

According to the constitution promulgated on May 9, 1948[40] :

"We have decided now that our liberated State shall be a national state, rid of all hostile elements, living in brotherly harmony with the family of Slav States and in friendship with all peace-loving nations of the world. (§ 9)"[...] "The Czechoslovak Republic is a unitary State of two Slav nations possessing equal rights, the Czechs and the Slovaks. (Article II/1 )"

— The Constitution of the Czechoslovak Republic; Constitutional Act of May 9th, 1948.

The key parts of the ethnic policy were written by the VIP members of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, like Klement Gottwald, Bohumír Šmeral, Jan Šverma and Vaclav Kopecky.[41] Gustáv Husák said:[42]

"The past seven tormenting years have changed our opinion and the opinion of the majority of the world on the minority politics. This is the fourth lesson we are drawing from the fall of 1938, a lesson pointing to the historic crime of the Hungarian and German minorities in the destruction of the Republic of Czechoslovakia, a lesson showing the sufferings of the population of Czechoslovakia, a lesson on the inevitability of expelling and exchanging the minority populations in the interest of the European peace and the peaceful coexistence of the nations."

— G. Husák "Poucenia z jesene (1938)" (1945)

Because the German and Hungarian minorities were pre-war Czechoslovak citizens, Beneš had to adopt decrees that deprived them of their citizenship.[43] In 1945, President Edvard Beneš revoked the citizenship of Germans and Hungarians by decree #33, except those with an active anti-fascist past (see Beneš Decrees), and Czechoslovakia maintained that the peace agreement must include a provision stating that "Hungarians whose Czechoslovak citizenship will now be revoked will be recognized by Hungary as Hungarian citizens and will be settled on its territory, and Hungary will bear responsibility for these individuals from the moment they cross Hungary's border and will provide for them".[37]

The forced deportation of the Hungarians

Deported Hungarians of Gúta (Kolárovo) in Mladá Boleslav, Czechoslovakia, February, 1947 (photo: Dr. Károly Ravasz)

The resettlement of about 700,000 Hungarians was envisaged at Kosice and subsequently reaffirmed by the National Front.[44] However, the succes of the Czechoslovak deportation plan depended on the decisions of the Great powers.[34] In 1943, before the end of the war, Beneš already had the necessary approval of the United States, Great Britain and the Soviet Union to transfer the German and Hungarian population out of Czechoslovakia.[34] But at the end of the war, when the American and British leaders saw the blueprint of Beneš's plan, they didn't support it.[34] However, this solution fit into Stalin's Central European policy, and on March 21, 1945, Molotov informed Beneš that the Soviet Union will try to support him to achieve his goal.[45] Zdeněk Fierlinger informed the Czechoslovak government that "Stalin has an utterly positive standpoint on our demands in the matter of the transfer. He will allow us to carry out the transfer to Germany and Hungary, and, to a certain extent, also to Austria"[45] The Potsdam Agreement approved the deportation of Germans from Czechoslovakia,[45] but the removal of the complete Hungarian population proved to be more difficult, and finally failed.[45][46] The post-war Czechoslovak government attempted to apply the Potsdam Agreement on the Hungarian population too, but the Western powers rejected this conception,[45] and they also refused putting the Czechoslovak demands into the peace treaty with Hungary.[45] The Hungarian government protested against the expel of the Hungarian population from Czechoslovakia and requested intervention from the Allies.[47] When the Czechoslovak government realized that they had lost the support of the Western powers, who advised and supported negotiations with Hungary, they turned to an internal solution, and decided to eliminate the Hungarian minority by Slovakization and Slovak colonization.[47]

"As we are throwing out three million Sudeten Germans, perhaps we could settle 300,000 Hungarians in this territory"

— Voroshilov to Clementis[48][49]

"I remember the successive waves of hatred against the Hungarians, especially in the time after the war, when we focus on our small Slovak revenge, taking no account of political affilitation or religion, when we were willing to come to terms even with Benes if he transferred enough Hungarians to the Sudeten lands, when we persecuted the Hungarians not as collaborators but just as unwanted aliens, when we hated not just Hungarians, but even their language. We need to apologise humbly for each Slovak misdeed, for the suffering thus caused to every individual Hungarian. It is not wolves, but of our citizens that we speak."Memoirs of Vladimír Mináč (1922-1996), member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, chairman of the Slovak Matica, and writer. (1990)[50][51]

Decree NO. #071/1945 ("Presidential edict concerning forced labor services of persons who had lost Czechoslovak citizenship; September 19, 1945") and #88/1945 ("Decree of the President on the General obligation to Work (abrogated by law No. 65/1965)") authorized the Czechoslovak administration to draft people into labour service for one year.[51] Under the disguise of 'labor recruiting' the deportation of Hungarians from South Slovakia began to the recently vacated Czech borderlands,[51][52] and their properties were confiscated.[51] The transit trains were marked with the signs 'voluntary agricultural workers'.[51] In fact, the real goal was to alter the ethnic composition of South Slovakia.[51][52] These 'labor recruitings' were named by Czech historian Karel Kaplan as 'internal colonisations'.[51] According to him:[51]

"[...] the political aim (of the internal colonisation) of which was to transfer a part of the Hungarian minority away from the Hungarian border and to destroy it as a compact territorial unit. This colonisation also had an immediate industrial golal -to provide the depopulated areas with a workforce"

— C.M. Breuning; Power and the people: a social history of Central European politics, 1945-56; (2005)

Between July and August 1946 under the slogan "Slovak agricultural labour assisting the Czech lands" more Hungarians were deported to Bohemia.[51] Eventually 40,000[47][53]-45,000[54]-50,000[52] Hungarians were deported to Czech territories recently cleared of Sudeten Germans, and their properties were confiscated by the state.[55] According to the Slovak National Archives, 41666 Hungarians had been deported from southern Slovakia.[56]

Hungarians who stayed in Slovakia became the targets of the extremly strong Slovak assimilation efforts.[57]

The number of Hungarians deported to the Czech borderlands from South Slovakia[56]
Deported old Hungarian people of Gúta (Kolárovo) in Mladá Boleslav, Czechoslovakia, February 1947 (photo: Dr. Károly Ravasz)
 District Number of Hungarians (1930)(1) Deported Hungarian families Deported Hungarian persons
1 Šamorín (now part of DSD) 27030 767 3951
2 Dunajská Streda District 39070 698 3551
3 Komárno 53154 1483 6694
4 Galanta 41474 874 3972
5 Šaľa 28431 694 2931
6 Nové Zámky 19625 313 1391
7 Hurbanovo (now part of Komárno District) 36940 966 3960
8 Štúrovo (now part of Nové Zámky District) 39483 1008 3956
9 Želiezovce (now part of Levice District) 24164 864 3282
10 Levice 12190 198 675
11 Veľký Krtíš 11023 97 437
12 Jesenské, Rimavská Sobota District 25 195 547 2156
13 Rožňava 14767 100 380
14 Spiš 16737 83 390
15 Kráľovský Chlmec (now part of Trebišov District) 24514 116 590
16 together 448 481 9610 41 666

(1) In 1930, according to the Czechoslovak census

Hungarian-Slovak population exchanges

Further information: Czechoslovak-Hungarian population exchange
File:The Slovak inhabitants of Békéscsaba, Hungary protest against the deportation of Hungarians from Czechoslovakia (1946).jpg
The Slovak inhabitants of Békéscsaba, Hungary protest against the deportation of Hungarians from Czechoslovakia (1946)

The Czechoslovak leadership pressed for a complete cleansing of the country and the deportation of all Hungarians; however, the Allies prevented a unilateral expulsion,[34] and instead they advised to solve the minorities' problem on via negotiation.[47] As a result, the Czechoslovak government resettled more than 40,000 Hungarians to the Czech borderlands, but this action evoked the protest of the United States and Hungary, and for the latter one, it was a warning. Hungary proposed the re-annexation of the solidly Hungarian areas (achieved in 1938 via the First Vienna Award, but on February 10, 1947, the Treaty of Paris declared it null and void), however, Czechoslovakia rejected this offer.[53] After this, Czechoslovakia pressed for a bilateral population exchange, to remove Hungarians, and gain Slovak population, to change the ethnic makeup of the country. This plan was initially rejected by Hungary. However, one of the unconcealed purpose of the deportation of the Hungarians to the Czech lands was, to force Hungary to sign the bilateral population exchange compact with Czechoslovakia.[58] Soon, Hungary realized, that the Allies are not interested in the fate of the Hungarian minority,[51] and they won't halt the deportations (the peace treaty signed on 1947 did not include any provision concerning the protection of minorities).[51] Under such a circumstances, Hungary finally signed the bilateral agreement with Czechoslovakia in Budapest, on February 27, 1946.[47] The Hungarian government considered the birth of the contract as a big fiasco.[59] The signatories were Vladimír Clementis, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia and János Gyöngyösi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary. The Czechoslovak government planned the removal of 250000[47][60] Hungarian people from South Slovakia to Hungary,[47] but only 44,129,[47]-45,475[61] -generally well-to-do businessmen, tradesmen, farmers and intellectuals-[55] had been transferred under the bilateral exchange, while 71787 or 73200[12][62][63][note 2] Slovaks from Hungary were resettled in South Slovakia. Slovaks leaving Hungary moved voluntarily, but Hungarians leaving Czechoslovakia were forcibly deported and their properties were taken away. 30,000 Hungarians - who arrived to the country in 1938, thus they were not Czechoslovak citizens before- left the territories that were re-annexed by Hungary in 1938 (see Vienna Awards) and then re-attached to Czechoslovakia after World War II. This was due to dropping out of the pension, social, and health-care system.[64] In all, 89660 Hungarians arrived to Hungary from Czechoslovakia between 1945 and 1949.[61] Due to the dissatisfication with their new properties, soon half of the Slovaks who joined the relocation program moved back to Hungary.[51]

Population changes between Czechoslovakia and Hungary (1945–1949)[61]
Slovak propaganda poster encouraging Slovaks to move from Hungary to Slovakia via the Slovak-Hungarian population exchange.
Appointed for the bilateral Czechoslovak-Hungarian population transfer Number of persons
Under article V. of the contract 105047 (27718 families)
Under article VIII. of the contract 65200 (23552 families)
De facto transferred Number of persons
Under article V. of the contract 45475
As war criminals, article VIII. of the contract 2905
"R" transport (regimists) 1034
Before the contract came into effect 11837
From the liberation until the inauguration of the Czechoslovak administration 10196
After the contract came into effect, but beyond from it 11057
After the contract came into effect 1083
from Rusovce 73
Voluntarily 6000
together 89660

"re-Slovakization"

"...in Slovakia, the party is breaking into factions. One of the factions is headed by the Representative of the Soviet of Plenipotentiaries, G. Husák. This faction includes Clementis, Novomecký and in general the Slovak intelligentsia and students. It displays a sharply nacionalistic, anti-Semitic, anti-Hungarian character. ... Anti-Semitism generally is widespread in the party"

— A letter from Mátyás Rákosi to Joseph Stalin, dated 25, September 1948.[65]

In 1946, another method -the process of "Reslovakization", (or re-Slovakization) the forced acceptance of Slovak ethnicity[55][66]- was engaged by the Czechoslovak government with the objective of eliminating the Hungarian ethnicity.[55] The Slovak Commissioner of the Interior on June 17, 1946 (decree No.20,000/1946) initiated the "Reslovakization" program.[55] This process based upon the Czechoslovak assumption that in fact there never had been any Hungarians in South Slovakia, only "Hungarianized Slovaks" who lost their Slovak national identy through the centuries of Hungarian rule.[67][68] As Anton Granatier, officer of the Resettlement Bureau said: „We want to be the national state of Slovaks and Czechs, and we will be. This monumental programme includes re−slovakization, already under way in whole Slovakia! Within the scope of this action everyone who feels to be Slovak by origin will have the chance to declare it freely whether they want to become Slovaks with all its consequences or want to share the fate of those without citizenship.“ In the spring and summer of 1945, a series of decrees stripped Hungarians of property, from all civil rights and from their citizenship.[53] Hungary itself gave the Slovaks equal rights and demanded the same solution to the issue from Czechoslovakia.[65] Since Hungarians in Slovakia were deprived of many rights, and were the target of discrimination, they were pressured into having their ethnicity officially changed to Slovak, otherwise they dropped out of the pension, social, and healthcare system.[69] 400,000 (sources differ) stateless[54] Hungarians applied for, and eventually 344,609[55] Hungarians received a re-Slovakization certificate by the Central Committee for Reslovakization, and thereby Czechoslovak citizenship. Therefore the number of Hungarians in Slovakia dropped to 350000.[54] According to Russian archives, 20000 Hungarians declared themselves as Slovak at the beginning of the year 1949, and eventually 360000 Hungarians changed their ethnicity to Slovak, according to Slovak historians.[70] The fear was so big among the Hungarian population, that only 350000-367000[71] claimed themselves Hungarian in the 1950 census, and only after ten years -when the reslovakization program was revoked- began to rose and reached 518000.[72]

An important issue with the slovakization procedure was, that the "reslovakized" Hungarians did not take the forcible change of ethnicity seriously, because it is impossible to force someone to forget his culture and language suddenly. A Slovak journalist wrote the following about the "reslovaklized" city of Nové Zámky (Hungarian: Érsekújvár):[73]

„80% of the Hungarian population of Nové Zamky re-Slovakized . . . On the other hand, the fact remains that one can barely hear Slovak spoken in Nové Zamky. You will never find these 80% Slovaks. Only a few government employees speak Slovak here and there. What happened to the re-Slovakized persons?“

— J. Miklo; Nás Národ (1947)

After October, 1948

With the disappearance of Eduard Benes from the political scene, the Czechoslovak government issued decree No. 76/1948 on April 13, 1948, allowing those Hungarians still living in Czechoslovakia, to reinstate Czechoslovak citizenship.[55] A year later, Hungarians were allowed to send their children to Hungarian schools, which had been reopened for the first time since 1945,[55] although Hungarians remaining in Slovakia were subjected to extremely heavy pressure to assimilate,[57] and complaints reached Moscow about forced enrollment of Hungarian children in Slovak schools.[57]

Most Slovakized Hungarians gradually readopted their Hungarian ethnicity. As a result, "The Re-Slovakization Commission" ceased operations in December 1948.

Despite their promises to settle the issue of the Hungarians in Slovakia, in 1948 Czech and Slovak ruling circles still maintained the hope that they could deport the Hungarians from Slovakia.[70] According to a 1948 poll conducted among the Slovak population 55% were for "resettlement" (deportation) of the Hungarians, 24% said "don't know", 21% were against.[57] Under slogans for the struggle with class enemies, the process of dispersing dense Hungarian settlements continued in 1948 and 1949.[57] By October 1949 preparations were made to deport 600 Hungarian families.[57]

Finally, at 25. July 1949, Czechoslovak and Hungarian delegations signed the Štrb protocol which ended the law disputes between Hungarian and Czechoslovak property and legal question and compensation of deported Hungarians.[74]

The current Slovak-Hungarian political standpoint on the expulsions

In 2002 before Slovakia and Hungary joined the European Union in 2004, Hungarian politician Viktor Orbán demanded the repeal of the Beneš decrees, but the European Parliament asserted that "the decrees did not constitute an insurmountable obstacle to accession."[75] Slovak politician Monika Beňová-Flašiková accused the Hungarian politicians for pushing "revanchist" policies which could destabilize Europe.[75] Later on the Hungarian members of the Slovak parliament requested for compensation and for a symbolic apology to the victims of the expulsions.[75] As an answer, the Slovak government adopted a resolution in September 2007 which declared that the Beneš decrees are inalterable.[75]

During Communism

Czechoslovakia (being a Communist country at that time) financed the following purely Hungarian institutions for the Hungarians in Czechoslovakia as of early 1989: 386 kindergartens, 131 elementary schools, 98 secondary schools, 2 theatres, 1 special Hungarian language publishing house (6 publishing houses also publishing Hungarian literature) and 24 newspapers and journals. The first Hungarian-language university in Slovakia was opened only in 2004 - the Selye János University.

According to The Minorities at Risk Project:

During the communist regime, Slovak nationalism was largely kept in check by the strongly centralist Prague regime. The 1968 switch to a federal arrangement gave greater scope to Slovak nationalism, however. New policies of assimilation included progressive Slovakization of education, elimination of Hungarian place-names from signs, bans on using Hungarian in administrative dealings and in institutions and workplaces, and pressure to Slovakize Hungarian names. Nonetheless, the most significant exclusionary factor in Hungarians’ social situation under the communist regime was most likely their own refusal to integrate into the Czechoslovak system and to learn the language. Without a fluency in the official language, their economic and political opportunities were severely limited.[76]

However, some Slovak sources[who?] claim that:

  • the federalisation was only notional (see e.g. Slovak Socialist Republic)[citation needed]
  • no change to the minority laws occurred with respect to the year 1968
  • during this time the number of Hungarian language schools and Hungarian-speaking people increased in Slovakia

Since the independence of Slovakia

Further information: Hungary-Slovakia relations

Hungarian minority parties

SMK and Most–Híd are currently the major hungarian minority parties in Slovak politics. Since 1993 a hungarian minority party has always been a member of the parliament. As of 2012, a hungarian minority party spent 10 out of 19 years in government.

Mečiar Government

Under Communism, the Hungarian minority issue was confined invariably to the position of Slovaks within the Czechoslovak state, and therefore it was ignored in any systematic way.[77] But the fall of Communism reinforced national identities and demolished the ideology of 'the socialist unity of nations'.[77] The break-up of Czechoslovakia was a process of national redefinition and assertion in Slovakia.[77]

"The oppression of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia gained momentum with the formation of the Slovak state in 1993, increasing even more sharply since Vladimír Mečiar came to power for the third time in December of 1994."

— Miklós Duray, politician Party of the Hungarian Coalition[78]

Under the premiership of Mečiar prone to populism, exclusivist Slovak nationalism, and the use of extralegal measures, independent Slovakia approached authoritarianism.[79] Mečiar turned the Hungarian minority into a scapegoat for Slovakia's bad economic situation.[79] Numerous articles and books containing anti-Hungarian propaganda appeared, and the Hungarians were accused for the destruction of the 'first Slovak state', and for the ‘one-millennium-long oppression’ of Slovak nation.[79]

Vladimír Mečiar (1942-)

During the redrawing of the administrative boundaries of Slovakia, Hungarian politicians suggested two models; the so-called 'Komárno proposals'.[80] The first proposal was a full ethnic autonomy of the southern Slovak districts with Hungarian majority, while the second suggestion was to create three counties in southern Slovakia to bring together the main centers of Hungarian population.[80] Although a territorial unit of this name existed before 1918, the borders proposed by SMK were significantly different. The proposed region would have encompassed a very long slice of southern Slovakia, with the explicit aim to create an administrative unit with ethnic-Hungarian majority. Hungarian minority politicians and intellectuals thought that such kind of administrative unit is essential for the long-term survival of the Hungarian minority. Both proposals were rejected by the Slovak government in favour of an eight county model of north-south (and not east-west) governance, which has been seen to weaken the electoral power of Hungarians.[80][81][82] According to Miklós Duray, a politician of the Party of the Hungarian Coalition:"Administrative jurisdictions of Slovakia were geographically modified in a clear case of gerrymandering.[78] The administrative system governed by laws created in 1991,[note 3] included 17 primary jurisdictions and 2 secondary jurisdictions, with a majority Hungarian population.[78] The 1996 law[note 4] eliminated this system of administration.[78] In the reorganized system only 2 primary administrative jurisdictions have a Hungarian majority population (Dunajská Streda and Komárno).[78] Furthermore, 8 secondary administrative jurisdictions were created, 5 with Hungarian populations in the 10 to 30 per cent range.[78] In 1998, these jurisdictions will have regional self governing communities, where the diminished proportion of Hungarians makes certain they will play a subordinate role in self government."[78] After the regions became autonomous in 2002, SMK was able to take power in the Nitra Region and it became part of the ruling coalition in several other regions.

Before the Slovak independence two main issues appeared regarding language: the right to use non-Slovakized versions of women's names and the use of bilingual street signs.[83] Non Slovaks were forced to Slovakize female personal names in official documents by attaching the Slovak feminine suffix '-ová'.[84] Members of ethnic minorities were restricted in their choise of given names, as registry offices accepted only names from a limited list only.[84] After ten years wrangling, the second Dzurinda cabinet eased these restrictions.[85]

The use of the Hungarian language

Further information: Language law of Slovakia
Further information: Hungarian language

The Slovak Constitution from 1992 asserts that the ‘state language’ on the territory of the Slovak Republic is Slovak.[86] At the same time this constitution entails explicit provisions for minorities, including language right.[87] These provisions were reinforced in 2001.[87] International treaties like the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (ratified by Slovakia in 1995) or the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ratified by Slovakia in 2001) and the 1995 Treaty on Good Neighbourly Relations and Friendly Cooperations between Slovakia and Hungary protect the language rights of minorities.[87] Article 34. of the 1992 constitution asserts that "citizens of ethnic minorities have the right to be educated in their language, the right to use it in dealings with authorities, and the right to participate in the solution of affairs concerning national minorities and ethnic groups".[84] These provisions afford a high standard of protection, but still, these legislative instruments do not warrant the implementation of the postulated rights.[84] In most cases the disfrancishement evolves when there is insufficient political will to legislate the provisions as laws.[84] This happened between 1992 and 1998 (i.e. under Mečiar's government).[84] Slovak nationalist demands for a language law detaining the use of Hungarian in public institutions already appeared in 1990.[88] Finally, the Meciar government pushed through legislation restricting the use of minority languages in public institutions.[83] In 1995, the Slovak Parliament passed Act No 270 on the State Language of Slovakia, which came into power on 1 January 1996.[89] This act revoked the more tolerant Act No 428 passed in 1990.[89] The 1995 act emphasized the significance of the Slovak language for Slovak nationalism and statehood, by consolidating the exclusivist monolingualism.[89] The new act considerably limited the use of minority languages, that is, of Hungarian, which had featured on bilingual signposts with placenames in predominantly Hungarian areas, and in bilingual school certificates issued to students in Hungarian minority schools.[89] According to Duray: "An official language law[note 5] was promulgated providing the legal framework for the official use of the Slovak language not only in official communications but also in everyday commerce, in the administration of religious bodies, and even in the realm of what is normally considered private interaction, for example, communications between patient and physician."[78] In 1999, the Dzurinda government passed Act No 184 on the Use of the Languages of the Minority Communities,[89] which reintroduced the institution of bilingual school certificates and provided that in communes with more than 20 percent of inhabitants belonging to a given minority, the minority language can be used in administration, and signposts with placenames can be bilingual.[89] Furthermore, Article 10, prohibiting doing business and drafting contracts in any other language but Slovak, was abolished from the Act.[89] However the act limits itself to only official contacts with the state and thus fails to overcome the 1996 act ensuring the use of Slovak in culture, schools and media.[90] Language rights in education have also been a sphere of antagonism between the Slovak state and the Hungarian minority.[91] Bilingual education in priamary and secondary schools is currently permitted.[91] However, the array of subjects that should be taught in each language remained a higly contested issue.[91] Government proposals prior to the 1998 elections (i.e. under Mečiar's government) even suggested that certain subjects should be taught only by teachers of 'Slovak origin' to ensure that the Slovak population living in areas with significant Hungarian populations should be able to assimilate themselves into mainstream Slovak life.[91] According to Duray: On March 12, 1997 (i.e. under Mečiar's government), the Undersecretary of Education sent a circular to the heads of the school districts making known the following regulations: In Hungarian schools the Slovak language should be taught exclusively by native speakers.[78] The same exclusion criteria applies to non-Slovak schools in the teaching of geography and history.[78] (The Undersecretary modified the language of this regulation later by changing the term "exclusively" for "mainly".)[78] In communities where the Hungarian community exceeds 40% of the total population the teachers of Slovak schools receive supplementary pay.[78] In all communities which include a Hungarians population and where there is no school or there is no Slovak school, wherever possible a Slovak school should be opened, but not a Hungarian one."[78][note 6] At the end of the 1998 school year a large number of Hungarian pupils handed back their school report that were issued only in Slovak.[91]

In 2003, there were 295 Hungarian elementary schools and 75 secondary schools in Slovakia. In most of them Hungarian was used as the medium of instruction, excluding 35 elementary schools and 18 secondary schools, which were bilingual.[92]

After the parliamentary elections in 2006, the nationalist party of Ján Slota became member of the ruling coalition led by Robert Fico. In August a few incidents motivated by ethnic hatred caused diplomatic tensions between the countries. Mainstream Hungarian and Slovak media blamed Slota's anti-Hungarian statements from the early summer for worsening ethnic relations. (Further informations: 2006 Slovak-Hungarian diplomatic affairs, and Hedvig Malina).

On 27 September 2007 the Beneš decrees were reconfirmed by the Slovak parliament which legitimized the Hungarians and Germans calumniation and deportation from Czechoslovakia after World War II.[93]

Ján Slota, the chairman of Slovak government Party SNS, according to whom the Hungarian population of Slovakia "is a tumour in the body of the Slovak nation."[94][95][96]

In 2008, the dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in Slovakia were reorganized. 8 dioceses were introduced in place of the previous 6. Until the reform the area of Žitný ostrov (Hungarian: Csallóköz), the Matúšova zem (Mátyusföld) and Poiplie (Ipolymente) - where a big portion of the Hungarians of Slovakia resides - belonged to the Archdiocese of Bratislava-Trnava. Now it belongs to four different dioceses. This triggered the protest of Hungarian catholic worshippers and priests.[97] However, the reform was introduced by the Vatican, not by the Slovak Republic.

Also in 2008, Ján Mikolaj (SNS), minister of education propagated changes in the Hungarian schools of Slovakia. According to a new education law plan, the Hungarian language which was educated as mother tongue until now will be considered a foreign language - and taught in a smaller proportion of lessons. The only textbooks allowed to be used in Hungarian schools will be those translated from Slovak books and approved by Slovak administration.[98]
In October 2008 Hungarian parents and teachers sent back Hungarian textbooks to the Minister of Education.[99] The books contained geographical names only in Slovak violating the basic rules of the Hungarian language and the minorities' right of usage of their native language.[99]
In November 2008 Prime Minister Robert Fico has again promised, this time at a cabinet meeting in Komárno (Révkomárom), southern Slovakia, that an ongoing problem with textbooks for ethnic Hungarian schools in Slovakia will be resolved.[100] Though as of November 2008 Ján Slota still insists on the grammatically incorrect version (Slovak language names in Hungarian sentences) and having the correct Hungarian name only afterwards.[101][102] [103] .[104]

The Slovak authorities denied the registration of a Hungarian traditional folk art association, because they used the Hungarian word Kárpát-medence (Carpathian Basin). According to Dušan Čaplovič the word and the association is against the sovereignty of Slovakia, furthermore the word is fascist, it is familiar with the German Lebensraum, and Hungarians use it in this ideology.[105] [106] [107] [108][109] On September 1, 2009 more than ten thousand Hungarians held demonstrations to protest against the so-called language law that limits the use of minority languages in Slovakia.[110] The law calls for fines of up to £4,380 for anyone "misusing the Slovak language.[111]

A strongly anti-Hungarian SNS political poster from the 2010 parliamentary election campaign. The top text reads "So that tomorrow we wouldn't be surprised", which is a reference to the perceived threat of Hungarians posed on the Slovak nation

The particular anti-Hungarian edge of the Slovak public discourse reached its top in the 2010 parliamentary elections, when numerous parties have been campaigning with latent to openly anti-Hungarian slogans. The presently governing Smer has rented billboards that have warned that "They have given power to SMK! They will do it again!",[112] alleging that forming a coalition with SMK would be dangerous. SNS went even further and published openly anti-Hungarian posters (see the picture on the right) asserting that Slovakia's on the brim of being conquered by Hungary due to the new Hungarian government's actions. Posters by SNS have been prominently featured in areas with predominantly Hungarian populace too.

2011 Census

In January 2011, a Hungarian sociologist László Gyurgyík expected that, by the May 2011 census, the number of Hungarian ethnicity citizens in Slovakia will be between 460,000 and 490,000.[113]

"Wise historism"

Since deputy prime minister Robert Fico declared the "wise historism" concept, the history books are getting rewritten in a faster pace than before, and in an increased "spirit of national pride",[114] [failed verification] [115] which Krekovič, Mannová and Krekovičová claim are mainly nothing else, but history falsifications.[115] Such new inventions are the interpretation of Great Moravia as a (proto)-Slovak state, or the term "proto-Slovak" itself,[115] along with the "refreshing" of many "old traditions", that in fact did not exist or were not Slovak before.[115] The concept received criticism in Slovakia pointing out that the term proto-Slovak cannot be found in any serious publication, simply because it lacks any scientific basis.[116] Miroslav Kusý Slovak political scientist explained that by adopting such scientificly questionable rhetoric Fico aims to "strengthen national consciousness by falsification of history".[117]

Rusyns

The ethnic relationship of Prešov Region is complex and volatile. A long-term cultural and everyday cohabition of Rusyns, Slovaks and Hungarians, under the prepodence of the non-Rusyn element led to the linguistic Slovakization of Rusyns, while in some parts (in cities and ethnic islands in the south) they were Magyarized. Still, in both cases they preserved their religion (Greek Catholicism). Until the 1920s, the Slovak-speaking Greek-Catholics composed a transitional group that was connected with the Rusyns through religion and traditions, with Slovak as their language. Their number was gradually increasing with the transition of the parts of Rusyn population to the Slovak language. Slovakization of the Rusyn population increased in the times of the Czechoslovakian authorities (since 1920). The Greek Catholics and Orthodox started to perceive themselves as Slovaks. It is difficult to estimate the distribution of the Orthodox and the Greek Catholics by the language as well as to determine the number of Rusyns because both the Hungarian and Czechoslovakian censuses provided the incorrect number of Rusyns, but it contains roughly 50-100 000 people. According to censuses the decrease of the number of Rusyns was influenced not only by Slovakization but also by emigration of a significant number of Rusyns from Prešov, mainly to the Czech lands.

The Slovak pressure on Rusyns in Slovakia increased after 1919 when Czechoslovakia incorporated Transcarpathia to the east of the Uzh River. The Slovakization of Rusyns (and Ukrainians) was a part of the program of the Slovak People's Party, whose leader refused to cooperate with the Rusyn politicians of Transcarpathia but cooperated with Hungarian-speaking A. Brody. Therefore, the Rusyn politicians opened the links with the Czech political parties which were supportive of neutrality towards the Rusyn question. The cultural Slovak-Rusyn relations at the time were minimal.

(from the Entsyklopediia Ukrainoznavstva)

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Ethnic cleansing is a term that has come to be used broadly to describe all forms of ethnically-motivated violence, ranging from murder, rape, and torture to the forcible removal of populations (Carmichael, Cathie (2002). Ethnic cleansing in the Balkans: nationalism and the destruction of tradition (Illustrated ed.). Routledge. p. 2. ISBN 0-415-27416-8, 9780415274166. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help))
  2. ^ The exact number depending on the source used
  3. ^ Law pertaining to Local Administration. Collection of Laws of 1990, number 472. Law pertaining to the territorial and administrative jurisdictions. Collection of Laws of 1990, number 517.
  4. ^ Law pertaining to the territorial and administrative reorganization of the Slovak Republic. Collection of Laws of 1996, number 221.
  5. ^ Language Law of the Slovak Republic. Collection of Laws of 1996, number 270.
  6. ^ The circular issued by Undersecretary Ondrej Nemcok cites governmental decrees of the Slovak Republic, numbers 459/95, 768/95 and 845/95.

Citations

  1. ^ Károly Kocsis, Eszter Kocsisné Hodosi, Ethnic Geography of the Hungarian Minorities in the Carpathian Basin, Simon Publications LLC, 1998, p. 62 [1]
  2. ^ Eleonore C. M. Breuning, Dr. Jill Lewis, Gareth Pritchard: Power and the People: A Social History of Central European Politics, 1945-56, Manchester University Press, 2005 [2]
  3. ^ Oszkár Jászi: Danubia: Old and New, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society (vol. 93, no. 1), Philadelphia, 1949 [3]
  4. ^ Rob Humphreys, Tim Nollen: Rough Guide to the Czech & Slovak Republics, 2003 [4]
  5. ^ a b J. Rieber 2000
  6. ^ Magocsi & Pop 2002, p. 75
  7. ^ Yeshayahu A. 1983, p. 185
  8. ^ Yehudah & Karády 1989, p. 216
  9. ^ Macartney, C.A. (1937). Hungary and her successors - The Treaty of Trianon and Its Consequences 1919-1937. Oxford University Press. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ Bernstein, Richard (2003-08-09). "East on the Danube: Hungary's Tragic Century". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-15. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ Macartney 2001, p. 3
  12. ^ a b 1
  13. ^ a b Marko & Martinický 1995
  14. ^ Engemann 2008, p. 2
  15. ^ C.M. Breuning, Dr. Lewis & Pritchard 2005, p. 146
  16. ^ Kocsis & Kocsisné Hodosi 1998, p. 56
  17. ^ Tisliar
  18. ^ Kovács 2004
  19. ^ http://www.zsr.sk/slovensky/historia-zeleznic/1918-1939.html?page_id=1276
  20. ^ HamvasBéla.org
  21. ^ Magyarország a XX. században / Szociálpolitika
  22. ^ Dinko Antun Tomašić, The communist leadership and nationalism in Czechoslovakia, Institute of Ethnic Studies, Georgetown University, 1960, p. 4 Cited:"...The other was Czech nationalism, combined with Slavophilism and Pan-Slavism, particularly in its anti-German and anti-Hungarian aspects."
  23. ^ Jaroslav Pánek, Oldřich Tůma, A History of the Czech Lands, Charles University, 2009, p. 465
  24. ^ Eugen Steiner, The Slovak dilemma, Cambridge University Press, 1973, p. 27
  25. ^ a b Béla Angyal (2002). Érdekvédelem és önszerveződés - Fejezetek a csehszlovákiai magyar pártpolitika történetéből 1918-1938 (Protection of interests and self-organization - Chapters from the history of the politics of Hungarians in Czechoslovakia) (PDF) (in Hungarian). Lilium Aurum. pp. 18–19. ISBN 80-8062-117-9. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
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  28. ^ Tipary Lászlóné–Tipary László (2004). Szülõföldem szép határa… - Magyarok deportálása és kitelepítése szülõföldjükrõl Csehszlovákiában az 1946–1948-as években (Beautiful borders of my homeland... - Deportation and forceful evacuation of Hungarians from their homeland at Czechoslovakia in the years of 1946-1948) (PDF) (in Hungarian). Lilium Aurum. p. 26. ISBN 80-8062-199-3. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
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  30. ^ a b Lubomír Lipták, Changes of changes: society and politics in Slovakia in the 20th century, Academic Electronic Press, 2002, p. 30 ISBN 978-80-88880-50-9
  31. ^ a b Béla Angyal (2002). Érdekvédelem és önszerveződés - Fejezetek a csehszlovákiai magyar pártpolitika történetéből 1918-1938 (Protection of interests and self-organization - Chapters from the history of the politics of Hungarians in Czechoslovakia) (PDF) (in Hungarian). Lilium Aurum. pp. 23–27. ISBN 80-8062-117-9. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  32. ^ Jablonicky 1965, p. 401
  33. ^ Cas, Bratislava, vol. 2, no 19, May 12, 1945
  34. ^ a b c d e f Kaplan 1987, p. 26
  35. ^ Otáhoalová, op. cit., pp. 199-200, 294-6; J.W. Brügel, Tschechen und Deutsche, vol. II, Munich 1974; E. Benes, Demokracie dnes zítra, London 1946, pp. 176-7; J. Kŕen, "Odsun Némcú ve světle nových dokumentů" in Vídeňské svobodné listy, Vienna, vol.34; Klimeš et al.,op.cit., p.56
  36. ^ Kamusella 2009, p. 774
  37. ^ a b J. Rieber 2000, pp. 84–85
  38. ^ J. Rieber 2000, p. 83
  39. ^ Chapters VIII and IX of the "Statute issued in Košice" , Slovakia, April 5, 1945 (Program of the new Czechoslovak Government, the National Front of Czechs and Slovaks, adopted by the cabinet council on April 5, 1945)
  40. ^ The Constitution of the Czechoslovak Republic; Constitutional Act ofMay 9th, 1948. Prague, Czechoslovak Ministry of Information, 1948.
  41. ^ Lastovicka 1960, pp. 449–471
  42. ^ G. Husak "Poucenia z jesene (1938)," Nove Slovo, vol. 2, no 20, October 12, 1945, 1-3
  43. ^ Kamusella 2009, pp. 774–775
  44. ^ Country Study 1987
  45. ^ a b c d e f Kaplan 1987, p. 27
  46. ^ Ther & Siljak 2001, p. 57
  47. ^ a b c d e f g h Kaplan 1987, p. 29
  48. ^ Ibid.,meetings Sept.11,1945,July 12, 16, August 9, 1946; SÚA, fond MV, a.j. 2308/2515 B, district security conference 1947
  49. ^ Kaplan 1987, p. 32
  50. ^ Mináč 1993, pp. 115–116
  51. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l C.M. Breuning, Dr. Lewis & Pritchard 2005, pp. 140–143
  52. ^ a b c J. Rieber 2000, p. 90
  53. ^ a b c Mandelbaum 2000, p. 40
  54. ^ a b c Kamusella 2009, p. 775
  55. ^ a b c d e f g h "Human Rights For Minorities In Central Europe: Ethnic Cleansing In Post World War II Czechoslovakia: The Presidential Decrees Of Edvard Beneš, 1945-1948".
  56. ^ a b Slovenský národný archív, Bratislava (Slovak National Archives, Bratislava Access date:2010-01-11) - Povereníctvo pôdohospodárstva a pozemkovej reformy - sekcia B ( ) box 304. tatistický preh ad náborom pracovných síl odsunutých na práce do iech.
  57. ^ a b c d e f J. Rieber 2000, p. 93
  58. ^ Šutaj 2005, pp. 20–29
  59. ^ Kertesz 1985, p. 33
  60. ^ SNA, ÚV KSS, 789. d., Záznam o zasad nu tí roz ší re né ho Pred sed níc tva KSS, kona nomdňa 16. 6. 1945.
  61. ^ a b c Prof. PaedDr. Štefan Šutaj, DrSc. (2007). "The Czechoslovak government policy and population exchange (A csehszlovák kormánypolitika és a lakosságcsere)". Slovak Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  62. ^ Bobák 1996
  63. ^ Zvara 1969
  64. ^ Index - A magyarok kitelepítése: mézesmadzag a szlovákoknak
  65. ^ a b J. Rieber 2000, p. 91
  66. ^ Ther & Siljak 2001, p. 15
  67. ^ Frič 1993, p. 28
  68. ^ Špiesz, Čaplovič & J. Bolchazy, p. 242
  69. ^ Szegő 2007
  70. ^ a b J. Rieber 2000, p. 92
  71. ^ Roessingh 1996, pp. 109–115
  72. ^ Mandelbaum 2000, p. 43
  73. ^ Nás Národ, September 7, 1947. (Article by J. Miklo.)
  74. ^ Vladimír Draxler - Štrbský protokol
  75. ^ a b c d Bernd 2009, p. 201
  76. ^ MAR 2006
  77. ^ a b c Smith 2000, p. 155
  78. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Duray 1996
  79. ^ a b c Kamusella 2009, p. 887
  80. ^ a b c Smith 2000, p. 159
  81. ^ P. Ramet 1997, pp. 131–134
  82. ^ O'Dwyer 2006, p. 113
  83. ^ a b Smith 2000, p. 157
  84. ^ a b c d e f Bernd 2009, p. 203
  85. ^ Martin & Skalodny 1998, p. 43
  86. ^ Kamusella 2009, p. 886
  87. ^ a b c Bernd 2009, p. 202
  88. ^ Hobsbawm 1990, p. 186
  89. ^ a b c d e f g Kamusella 2009, p. 888
  90. ^ Smith 2000, p. 161
  91. ^ a b c d e Smith 2000, p. 158
  92. ^ Kamusella 2009, p. 890
  93. ^ "The Beneš-Decrees Are Untouchable" (PDF). mkp. 2007. Retrieved October 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  94. ^ "Separatist Movements Seek Inspiration in Kosovo". Der Spiegel. 2008-02-22. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  95. ^ Cienski 2009
  96. ^ Ward 2009
  97. ^ bumm.sk Nyílt levél a szlovák püspökkari konferenciához. (27th February 2008)
  98. ^ Bumm 2008
  99. ^ a b "Visszaküldik a magyar neveket bojkottáló szlovák tankönyveket". Figyelő (in Hungarian). Sanoma. 2008-10-08. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  100. ^ "SFico says Hungarian textbooks problem will be resolved". 2008-11-19. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  101. ^ "Slota: Meghátráltunk, kétnyelvűek lesznek a településnevek" (in Hungarian). 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
  102. ^ Felvidék Ma 2008
  103. ^ http://nol.hu/kulfold/slota_megforditana_fico_javaslatat, Népszabadság, 2008-11-21 (in Hungarian)
  104. ^ http://www.delilap.hu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16721&Itemid=1, 2008-11-21 (in Hungarian)
  105. ^ http://www.hirszerzo.hu/cikk.a_karpat-medence_a_lebensraum_magyar_megfeleloje_a_szlovak_miniszterelnok-helyettes_szerint.87635.html Hírszerző, (in Hungarian)
  106. ^ http://ujszo.com/online/kozelet/2008/11/19/a-belugy-eltorolte-a-karpat-medencet ( in Hungarian)
  107. ^ http://atv.hu/hircentrum/2008_nov_caplovic__a__karpat_medence__ugyanaz__mint_a_naci__eletter__.html (In Hungarian)
  108. ^ http://www.mno.hu/portal/598288?searchtext=lebensraum (in Hungarian)
  109. ^ http://www.individual.com/story.php?story=92341355, (in ENGLISH) Nov 20, 2008 (BBC Monitoring via COMTEX)
  110. ^ Protests over Slovak language law
  111. ^ http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/world/World-in-brief120
  112. ^ Daniela Jancová (2 June 2010). "Vyhlásenia kto s kým netreba brať vážne" (in Slovak). Pravda. Retrieved 14 May 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  113. ^ "Bugár: Hungarians, show up! (in Slovak)". SME. 2011-01-07. Retrieved 2011-04-13.
  114. ^ Matica Slovenská cancels history textbook, Slovak Spectator, July 31, 1996
  115. ^ a b c d Krekovič, Mannová & Krekovičová 2005
  116. ^ Népszabadság Online: Fico: Szvatopluk volt első királyunk
  117. ^ MN Magyar Nemzet

Sources and general references

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  • Eleonore C. M. Breuning, Dr. Jill Lewis, Gareth Pritchard; Power and the people: a social history of Central European politics, 1945–56; Manchester University Press, 2005; ISBN 0-7190-7069-4, ISBN 978-0-7190-7069-3
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  • Engemann, Iris (2008). The Slovakization of Bratislava 1918-1948. Processes of national appropriation in the interwar-period. CEU. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Jablonicky, Jozef (1965). Slovensko na prelome; Zapas o vitazstvo narodnej a demokratickej revolucie na Slovensku (in Slovak). Bratislava: Vydavatel'stvo politickej literatury. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Country Study (1987). Library of Congress Country Studies; Czechoslovakia; Minorities and Population Transfers; The War Years, 1939-45. Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Yeshayahu A., Jelinek (1983). The Lust for Power: Nationalism, Slovakia, and the Communists, 1918-1948. East European Monographs. ISBN 0-88033-019-8, 9780880330190. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |chapterurl= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Bobák, Ján (1996). Mad̕arská otázka v Česko-Slovensku, 1944-1948 (in Slovak). Matica slovenská. ISBN 978-80-7090-354-4. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  • Lastovicka, Cf. Bohuslav (1960). "Vznik a vyznam Kosickeho vladniho programu". Ceskoslovensky Casopis Historicky [Czechoslovakia Historical Magazine] (in Slovak). 8 (4): 449–471. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Krekovič, Eduard; Mannová, Elena; Krekovičová, Eva (2005). Mýty naše slovenské (in Slovak). Bratislava: AEPress. ISBN 80-88880-61-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  • Marko, Augustín; Martinický, Pavol (1995). Slovensko-maďarské vzťahy : história a súčasnost̕ vo faktoch (in Slovak). Bratislava: Signum : Slovenská spoločnosť na obranu demokracie a humanity [Slovak Society for Protection of Democracy and Humanity]. ISBN 978-80-967333-2-3. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  • Zvara, Juraj (1969). Madárská menšina na Slovensku po roku 1945 (in Slovak). Bratislava: Epocha, t. Pravda. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  • Macartney, C.A. (2001) [1st. Pub. 1937]. "Chapter 1: Introduction". Hungary and her successors - The Treaty of Trianon and Its Consequences 1919-1937. 1st. Pub. Oxford University Press 2nd. Pub. Simon Publications. ISBN 978-1-931313-86-5. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |chapterurl= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Kovács, Éva (2004). "IV: A politikai attitűdök mint a nemzeti azonosságtudat mutatói". Felemás asszimiláció A kassai zsidóság a két világháború között (1918-1938) (PDF). Nostra tempora;, 9 (in Hungarian). Šamorín: Forum Minority Research Institute; Lilium Aurum Slovakia. ISBN 80-8062-222-1. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |trans_title= and |coauthors= (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)LCCN 20-5
  • Szegő, Iván Miklós (2007-09-29). "A magyarok kitelepítése: mézesmadzag a szlovákoknak" (in Hungarian). Index. Retrieved 2010-02-21. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Yehudah, Don; Karády, Viktor (1989). A Social and Economic History of Central European Jewry. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-211-8,9780887382116. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Magocsi, Paul R.; Pop, Ivan (2002). Encyclopedia of Rusyn History and Culture. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-3566-3, 9780802035660. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Martin, Butora; Skalodny, Thomas W. (1998). Slovakia 1996-1997: A Global Report on the State and Society. Institute for Public Affairs. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Kocsis, Károly; Kocsisné Hodosi, Eszter (1998). Ethnic Geography of the Hungarian Minorities in the Carpathian Basin. Simon Publications LLC. ISBN 1-931313-75-X, 9781931313759. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Tisliar, Pavol. Prve slovenske scitanie l'udu z roku 1919 (PDF) (in Slovak). Katedra archivnctva a pomocnych vied historickych Filozoficka fakulta UK. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Rubicon (2005). "Rubicon, történelmi folyóirat" (in Hungarian). 6. Rubicon-Ház Bt. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  • Cienski, Jan (August 16, 2009). "Slovakia and Hungary just won't get along". Globalpost. Globalpost. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Ward, Josh (08/25/2009). "Slovakia and Hungary 'Dangerously Close to Playing with Fire'". Spiegel. SpiegelOnline International. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Bumm.sk (05/03/2008). "Sínen a školský zákon. Duray: ravasz módszerekkel próbálkoznak". Bumm (in Hungarian). www.bumm.sk. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Felvidék Ma (11/21/2008). "Slota: Meghátráltunk, kétnyelvűek lesznek a településnevek". Felvidék Ma (in Hungarian). www.felvidek.ma. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Smith, Adrian (2000). "Ethnicity, Economic Polarization and Regional Inequality in Southern Slovakia, Growth and Change". Growth and Change. 31 (2). University of Sussex: 151. doi:10.1111/0017-4815.00124. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Duray, Miklós (1996). "Hungarian Nation in Slovakia". Slovakia.org Slovakia.org. Retrieved 2010-03-29. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • MAR (2006). "Assessment for Hungarians in Slovakia". University of Maryland, College Park. Retrieved 2010-03-29. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Hobsbawm, Eric J. (1990). Nations and nationalism since 1780: programme, myth, reality. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-33507-8. ...The most immediate demand of Slovak nationalism in 1990 was to 'make Slovak the only official language and force the population of 600,000 ethnic Hungarians to use only Slovak in dealing with authorities'... {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • P. Ramet, Sabrina (1997). Whose democracy?: nationalism, religion, and the doctrine of collective rights in post-1989 Eastern Europe. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 131–134. ISBN 0-8476-8324-9, 9780847683246. [Meciar]...gerrymandered electoral districts in order to reduce ethnic Hungarian strength in parliament... {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • O'Dwyer, Conor (2006). Runaway state-building: patronage politics and democratic development. JHU Press. ISBN 0-8018-8365-2, 9780801883651. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Roessingh, Martijn A. (1996). Ethnonationalism and political systems in Europe: a state of tension. Amsterdam University Press. ISBN 978-90-5356-217-8. In the 1950 census only 367 thousand had declared themselves Hungarian, due to the Slovakization campaign that followed the Second World War {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Frič, Pavol (1993). Madǎrská menšina na Slovensku (in Czech & English). EGEM. ISBN 80-85395-31-2. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  • Špiesz, Anton; Čaplovič, Duśan; J. Bolchazy, Ladislaus (30 July 2006). Illustrated Slovak history: a struggle for sovereignty in Central Europe. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers. ISBN 978-0-86516-426-0. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Further reading

  • Van Duin, Pieter; Polá, Zuzana (2000). DEMOCRATIC RENEWAL AND THE HUNGARIAN MINORITY QUESTION IN SLOVAKIA. European Societies. Vol. 2, Issue 3. pp. 335–360. doi:10.1080/146166900750036303. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Fisher, Sharon (2006). Political Change in Post-Communist Slovakia and Croatia: From Nationalist to Europeanist. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4039-7286-6. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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