Slovakia in History
Slovakia in History
Dušan Kováč, Slovak Academy of Sciences
Martin D. Brown, Richmond: The American International University in London
Until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, Slovakia's identity seemed inextricably linked with that of the former state. This book explores the key moments and themes in the history of Slovakia from the Duchy of Nitra's ninth-century origins to the establishment of independent Slovakia at midnight 1992–3. Leading scholars chart the gradual ethnic awakening of the Slovaks during the Reformation and Counter-Reformation and examine how Slovak national identity took shape with the codification of standard literary Slovak in 1843 and the subsequent development of the Slovak national movement. They show how, after a thousand years of Magyar-Slovak coexistence, Slovakia became part of the new Czechoslovak state from 1918–39, and shed new light on its role as a Nazi client state as well as on the postwar developments leading up to full statehood in the aftermath of the collapse of communism in 1989. There is no comparable book in English on the subject.
- Brings the history of Slovakia to a new English-speaking audience
- Essays by leading scholars in the region
- Explores the complexity of Slovakia's multifaceted history, and gives a new dimension to the nation frequently thought of as just a part of the former Czechoslovakia
Reviews & endorsements
'Slovakia is a small country, only recently independent. But it is larger, and its history far longer and richer, than might be assumed. For centuries its inhabitants shared in the destinies of the Kingdom of Hungary; then for decades they formed an organic part of the modern state of Czechoslovakia. Here for the first time is a full and satisfactory treatment of that past in English. Authored mainly by Slovaks, it transcends the myopia and prejudice which have often disfigured the historiography of the subject and it incorporates many fresh research findings.' Robert Evans, Regius Professor of History, Oxford University
'This useful collection of essays presents the history of Slovakia and the Slovaks from the Middle Ages to the present and brings the results of research by Slovak historians of the post-Communist era to an international readership. It will be required reading for anyone interested in the history of East-Central Europe.' Richard Evans, Regius Professor of History, University of Cambridge
'The work is invaluable as the reference book on the topic, as it is full of well-researched detail.' Zuzana Slobodova, British Czech and Slovak Review
Product details
August 2013Paperback
9781107676909
434 pages
229 × 152 × 22 mm
0.58kg
19 b/w illus. 5 maps
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Slovakia, the Slovaks and their history Dušan Kováč
- 2. The Duchy of Nitra Ján Steinhübel
- 3. The beginnings of the nobility in Slovakia Ján Lukačka
- 4. Medieval towns Vladimír Segeš
- 5. Renaissance and humanist tendencies in Slovakia Eva Frimmová
- 6. The period of religious disturbances in Slovakia Viliam Čičaj
- 7. The Enlightenment and the beginnings of the modern Slovak nation Eva Kowalská
- 8. Slovak Slavism and Pan-Slavism Ľudovít Haraksim
- 9. The Slovak political programme: from Hungarian patriotism to the Czecho-Slovak state Dušan Kováč
- 10. Slovakia in Czechoslovakia (1918–38) Natália Krajčovičová
- 11. Slovakia from the Munich conference to the declaration of independence Valerián Bystrický
- 12. The Slovak state, 1939–45 Ivan Kamenec
- 13. The Slovak question and the resistance movement during the Second World War Jan Rychlík
- 14. The Slovak National Uprising: the most dramatic moment in the nation's history Vilém Prečan
- 15. The Slovak question, 1945–8 Michal Barnovský
- 16. Czechoslovakism in Slovak history Elisabeth Bakke
- 17. The Magyar minority in Slovakia before and after the Second World War Štefan Šutaj
- 18. The establishment of totalitarianism in Slovakia after the February coup of 1948 and the culmination of mass persecution, 1948–53 Jan Pešek
- 19. Slovakia and the attempt to reform socialism in Czechoslovakia, 1963–9 Stanislav Sikora
- 20. Slovakia's position within the Czecho-Slovak federation, 1968–70 Jozef Žatkuliak
- 21. Slovakia under communism, 1948–89: controversial developments in the economy, society and culture Miroslav Londák and Elena Londáková
- 22. The fall of communism and the establishment of an independent Slovakia Michal Štefanský
- 23. Afterword: Slovakia in history Mikuláš Teich.
