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Czechoslovakia Problem of Dissatisfied Nationalities
Slovak Autonomy
Czechoslovakia's centralized political structure might have
been well suited to a single nation-state, but it proved
inadequate for a multinational state. Constitutional protection
of minority languages and culture notwithstanding, the major nonCzech nationalities demanded broader political autonomy.
Political autonomy was a particularly grave issue for the Czechs'
partners, the Slovaks. In 1918 Masaryk signed an agreement with
American Slovaks in Pittsburgh, promising Slovak autonomy. The
provisional National Assembly, however, agreed on the temporary
need for centralized government to secure the stability of the
new state. The Hlasists, centered on the journal Hlas,
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 Populist Party. The party
had been founded by a Catholic priest, Andrej Hlinka, in December
1918. 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 Populist 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 the Hapsburg Empire. 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 Populist 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 province, and Slovak Populists joined the central
government. 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 Austria, Hungary, 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 Populist Party, who called
themselves Nastupists, after the journal Nastup.
Tuka's arrest and trial in 1929 precipitated the
reorientation of Hlinka's party in a totalitarian direction. The
Nastupists gained control of the party; Slovak Populists resigned
from the government. 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 Slovak Populists
demanded a Czechoslovak alliance with Hitler's Germany and
Mussolini's Italy. In September 1938, the Slovak Populist Party
received instructions from Hitler to press its demands for Slovak
autonomy.
Data as of August 1987
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