Slovak National Communism by Adam Hudek
Nationalities Papers
Slovak national communism as a specific approach to the problem of Czech-Slovak relations gained ... more Slovak national communism as a specific approach to the problem of Czech-Slovak relations gained a significant position within the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia soon after its establishment in 1921. This article analyzes the foundations of this phenomenon and the evolving attitudes of the first generation of Slovak communist intellectuals and Party functionaries. The article’s primary focus is on the Slovak communists’ views regarding the official state doctrine of a unified Czechoslovak nation, Czech-Slovak relations, and the issue of Slovak autonomy. The study highlights the significant external influences, particularly the directives of the Communist International and the pre-existing national stereotypes, that shaped the worldview and nationalist tendencies of Slovak communists.
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Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas, 2023
The study analyzes the continuities between the "national communism" of the 1980s and the "nation... more The study analyzes the continuities between the "national communism" of the 1980s and the "national populism" of the 1990s in the case of Slovakia. It describes how the legacy of the Slovak national communist program contributed to establishing the course and shape of Slovak transformation in the early 1990s and beyond. The main focus is on the ways in which the former communist intellectual elites used their informal networks to rebuild their institutional foundations after the fall of the communist regime. To retain their status, they created an agenda based on the concept of Slovak sovereignty and opposition to the political hegemony of both the Western-oriented post-dissident elites and the technocrats planning the radical economic transformation. Through their activities, the former national communists gained considerable political support, which they used to strengthen or establish populist and nationalist political currents in Slovak politics. The fact that they provided a more acceptable version of nationalism than their far-right rivals gave them a near monopoly when it came to forming the national ideology of the new hegemon of Slovak politics Vladimír Mečiar. By combining their networks from the past with the opportunities offered by the democratic transition, they contributed to the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993 as the first step toward creating a Slovak version of "illiberal democracy".
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This chapter deals with the specific features of Slovak development in the 1970s and 1980s. The n... more This chapter deals with the specific features of Slovak development in the 1970s and 1980s. The normalisation regime had the same objectives in both the Czech lands and Slovakia, but the tactics on how to reach them differed. The post-1968 communist leadership utilised the differences between the Slovak and Czech situation to its advantage. Political persecution was less strict and more selective in Slovakia and ‘capitulation to normalisation’ was much more widespread and faster than in the Czech lands. The legitimacy of the Slovak ‘normalisation regime’ was not dependent solely on the material well-being of the population. Slovak national communists created a viable narrative, which promoted ‘real socialism’ as the fulfilment of the decades-long emancipatory efforts of the Slovak nation. Slovak opposition was weaker, less politicised and lacked a common platform and could not provide a political alternative to the existing regime. The results of the different approaches towards Czech and Slovak society during normalisation significantly influenced post-1989 developments in Slovakia, as well as the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.
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This study deals with the idea of nationalism in the thinking of Slovak communist intellectuals f... more This study deals with the idea of nationalism in the thinking of Slovak communist intellectuals from the early 1920s until the end of the 1960s. The variety of roles that national communism took during these decades are detailed, including an “intellectual exercise” in the 1930s, an ideological deviation in the 1950s, a program of national emancipation in 1960s and finally, the narrative of legitimizing the normalization orthodoxy after the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion into Czechoslovakia. The aim of this paper is to explore the variety of ways Slovak communist intellectuals connected the Marxist-Leninist worldview with their own nationalist discourse in different periods, describing how encountered ideological dilemmas were solved and then integrated into the program of Slovak national communism. The opening pages discuss the first generation
of Slovak Marxist intellectuals in the interwar period, who defined the essential points of the Slovak national communist program. Next, following the example of historian Ľubomír Lipták, the second part documents the “intellectual de-Stalinization” of the 1960s, which included profound criticism of the Slovak position in the republic. The final piece of this study analyzes the culmination of discussions regarding Czech-Slovak relations in 1968 and 1969.
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Československí komunisti si dávno pred uchopením moci v roku 1948 uvedomovali dôležitosť získania... more Československí komunisti si dávno pred uchopením moci v roku 1948 uvedomovali dôležitosť získania kontroly nad interpretáciou minulosti. Vytvorenie vlastnej marxistickej koncepcie kľúčových udalostí dejín malo byť jedným z dôležitých prostriedkov legitimizácie mocenských nárokov Komunistickej strany Československa (KSČ). Stranícki ideológovia sa netajili názorom, že historická veda je užitočná len vtedy, ak poskytuje materiál pre tzv. politickú prax prítomnosti. Z toho vyplýval silný prézentizmus v interpretácii historických udalostí spojený s častým prispôsobovaním a menením argumentácie v závislosti od potrieb aktuálnej politickej praxe.
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oncept of the Czechoslovak history in its various modifications had without doubt great impact on... more oncept of the Czechoslovak history in its various modifications had without doubt great impact on the forming of the Slovak master narrative. Discussions and reflections about the existence of common Czechoslovak history builds the inseparable part in the development of Slovak historiography. Different Czechoslovakistic concepts were always a result of strictly academic, but also ideological, political, national as well as rational opinions and interests of governments, political parties, interest groups and also individuals. Between 1918 and 1968, different concepts of Slovak a Czech master narratives came through several stages of approaching, joining and separation. These processes were accompanied by discussions and academical, ideological and dogmatic justifications for and against concepts of Slovak or Czechoslovak master narratives were introduced. In given period, Czechoslovakistic tendencies in Slovak historiography arose from different reasons. Common Czechoslovak master narrative justified the birth and existence of new Czechoslovak state after 1918. Communistic ideological struggle against „bourgeois nationalism" in the 50. demanded emphasizing the brotherhood of Czechs and Slovak during their history. It was the same also during the renewed struggle against „Slovak separatism" in the 60. However, the Slovak historiography had newer voluntarily accepted Czechoslovak tendencies and event in the period of communist totality, this concept was abandoned right after the weakening of the political and ideological pressure in the second half of the 60. In conclusion, we can state that the characteristic sign of Slovak historiography since its beginning was (sometimes more or less visible) the attempt to create an independent Slovak national story which would not merge with, and would not be part of, the other master narratives. However, this process was not totally completed even during the 1918 – 1967, but even the communist dictatorship could this process only slow down but not completely suppress.
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Slovak historiography in the construction of the Marxist version of Czechoslovak history in the f... more Slovak historiography in the construction of the Marxist version of Czechoslovak history in the fifties of the 20th century
In its initial phases, the post‑war Slovak history resolutely rejected the two previous interpretations of the countryʼs history: the popular‑nationalist one as well as the inter‑war
Czechoslovak one. Later, the debate on the future shape of Slovak historiography was profoundly influenced by the
Communist coup in 1948, its main feature being the fact that it was not shaped by historians but by the party apparatus on the basis of the „contemporary political practice“. The role of historians was limited to explaining history in order to align it with given ideological assumptions and political goals of the establishment. The effort to centralize the State put an abrupt end to the debate on national and political position of Slovaks in Czechoslovakia, which was also reflected in historiography. The ideological struggle against the so‑called bourgeois nationalism in the fifties led to a political pressure to link Czech and Slovak history as tightly as possible, which resulted in a re‑interpretation of a whole number of crucial periods of Slovak history. In the framework of this process, however, certain
issues became controversial between Slovak and Czech historians and disrupted the creation of the
marxist version of the common Czechoslovak history.
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Rozvratná skupina Husák, Novomeský, Šmidke, Clementis a další. Jak se po válce na Slovensku bojov... more Rozvratná skupina Husák, Novomeský, Šmidke, Clementis a další. Jak se po válce na Slovensku bojovalo o moc. A jak navzdory Leopoldovu zůstali komunisty.
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Komunistický nacionalizmus, nacionalistický komunizmus, národní komunisti. Ak sa aj vám tieto slo... more Komunistický nacionalizmus, nacionalistický komunizmus, národní komunisti. Ak sa aj vám tieto slovné spojenia zdajú protirečivé, nemožno sa čudovať. Komunisti predsa hlásali a často okázalo oslavovali bratstvo národov: vpád vojsk varšavskej zmluvy v roku 1968 sa počas normalizácie oslavoval ako bratská pomoc a pravidelne sa konali oslavy československo-sovietskeho priateľstva. Internacionála, hymna, ktorá bola prakticky soundtrackom komunistického režimu, oslavovala medzinárodný socializmus. Spieva sa v nej o jednom a jednotnom pracujúcom ľude a nenájdete v nej ani zmienku o národoch.
Avšak, pre vedúce postavy Komunistickej strany Slovenska, ale tiež radových komunistov bol národný komunizmus dôležitou súčasťou ich myšlienkového sveta a politiky. Pre mnohých komunistov bol národný komunizmus užitočný aj po páde komunistického režimu v roku 1989: viacerým poslúžil ako predpríprava na rýchlu konverziu z komunistov na plnokrvných nacionalistov a populistov.
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Koncept „národného komunizmu“ predstavoval na Slovensku 70. a 80. rokov hlavný legitimizačný prvo... more Koncept „národného komunizmu“ predstavoval na Slovensku 70. a 80. rokov hlavný legitimizačný prvok normalizačného režimu. Slovenskí národne komunistickí intelektuáli dve desaťročia obhajovali kombináciu reálneho socializmu a socialistickej federácie ako najlepší z možných svetov. Ich odmenou bolo privilegované postavenie a pozícia jediných oficiálnych ochrancov národných tradícií a kultúry. Pád komunistického režimu však ich postavenie výrazne ohrozil. Post-disidentské elity pristupovali k národným komunistom nepriateľskejšie ako k vysokým straníckym funkcionárom. Tí v reakcií na to podporovali a pomáhali formovať populistické a nacionalistické smery v slovenskej politike. Aktualizovaný národne komunistický program tak úspešne slúžil potrebám politických prúdov, ktoré sa stavali proti politickej hegemónii lídrov Nežnej revolúcie, ako aj technokratov plánujúcich ekonomickú transformáciu. Kontinuita medzi „národným komunizmom“ 80. rokov a „národným populizmom“ 90. rokov výrazne ovplyvnila priebeh a podoby slovenskej transformácie, a po rozpade Československa aj vytváranie slovenskej verzie „iliberálnej demokracie“.
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History of Slovak Scientific Institutions by Adam Hudek
Práce z dějin Akademie věd 14(2):27-47, 2022
The study analyses the development of the mutual relationship between the Slovak and Czechoslovak... more The study analyses the development of the mutual relationship between the Slovak and Czechoslovak academies of sciences from the early 1950s to the beginning of the normalisation regime. It focuses on three key periods: the founding period of both institutions, the centralising tendencies of the early 1960s and the attempt at fundamental reform during the liberalising period of the Prague Spring. These processes are examined from the perspective of the Slovak Academy, as it was this institution that was influenced by the changes described here, and its representatives provided the impulses to redefine the existing situation.
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The aim of the study is to analyse the demands presented by representatives of the Slovak Academy... more The aim of the study is to analyse the demands presented by representatives of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (Slovenská akadémia vied, SAV) during the period of liberalization at the end of the 1960s. The scientific elites of this period did not endeavour only to achieve particular aims concerning the functioning of Czechoslovak or Slovak science and research. They also formulated demands concerning the whole of society. They realized that the problems in the functioning of the academy had their roots in the way the socialist dictatorship functioned in Czechoslovakia and so their solution was conditional on fundamental changes to the existing regime or system.
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Slovak National Communism by Adam Hudek
of Slovak Marxist intellectuals in the interwar period, who defined the essential points of the Slovak national communist program. Next, following the example of historian Ľubomír Lipták, the second part documents the “intellectual de-Stalinization” of the 1960s, which included profound criticism of the Slovak position in the republic. The final piece of this study analyzes the culmination of discussions regarding Czech-Slovak relations in 1968 and 1969.
URL: http://www.inthelongrun.org/articles/article/prague-spring-and-its-legacy-the-slovak-perspective
In its initial phases, the post‑war Slovak history resolutely rejected the two previous interpretations of the countryʼs history: the popular‑nationalist one as well as the inter‑war
Czechoslovak one. Later, the debate on the future shape of Slovak historiography was profoundly influenced by the
Communist coup in 1948, its main feature being the fact that it was not shaped by historians but by the party apparatus on the basis of the „contemporary political practice“. The role of historians was limited to explaining history in order to align it with given ideological assumptions and political goals of the establishment. The effort to centralize the State put an abrupt end to the debate on national and political position of Slovaks in Czechoslovakia, which was also reflected in historiography. The ideological struggle against the so‑called bourgeois nationalism in the fifties led to a political pressure to link Czech and Slovak history as tightly as possible, which resulted in a re‑interpretation of a whole number of crucial periods of Slovak history. In the framework of this process, however, certain
issues became controversial between Slovak and Czech historians and disrupted the creation of the
marxist version of the common Czechoslovak history.
Avšak, pre vedúce postavy Komunistickej strany Slovenska, ale tiež radových komunistov bol národný komunizmus dôležitou súčasťou ich myšlienkového sveta a politiky. Pre mnohých komunistov bol národný komunizmus užitočný aj po páde komunistického režimu v roku 1989: viacerým poslúžil ako predpríprava na rýchlu konverziu z komunistov na plnokrvných nacionalistov a populistov.
History of Slovak Scientific Institutions by Adam Hudek
of Slovak Marxist intellectuals in the interwar period, who defined the essential points of the Slovak national communist program. Next, following the example of historian Ľubomír Lipták, the second part documents the “intellectual de-Stalinization” of the 1960s, which included profound criticism of the Slovak position in the republic. The final piece of this study analyzes the culmination of discussions regarding Czech-Slovak relations in 1968 and 1969.
URL: http://www.inthelongrun.org/articles/article/prague-spring-and-its-legacy-the-slovak-perspective
In its initial phases, the post‑war Slovak history resolutely rejected the two previous interpretations of the countryʼs history: the popular‑nationalist one as well as the inter‑war
Czechoslovak one. Later, the debate on the future shape of Slovak historiography was profoundly influenced by the
Communist coup in 1948, its main feature being the fact that it was not shaped by historians but by the party apparatus on the basis of the „contemporary political practice“. The role of historians was limited to explaining history in order to align it with given ideological assumptions and political goals of the establishment. The effort to centralize the State put an abrupt end to the debate on national and political position of Slovaks in Czechoslovakia, which was also reflected in historiography. The ideological struggle against the so‑called bourgeois nationalism in the fifties led to a political pressure to link Czech and Slovak history as tightly as possible, which resulted in a re‑interpretation of a whole number of crucial periods of Slovak history. In the framework of this process, however, certain
issues became controversial between Slovak and Czech historians and disrupted the creation of the
marxist version of the common Czechoslovak history.
Avšak, pre vedúce postavy Komunistickej strany Slovenska, ale tiež radových komunistov bol národný komunizmus dôležitou súčasťou ich myšlienkového sveta a politiky. Pre mnohých komunistov bol národný komunizmus užitočný aj po páde komunistického režimu v roku 1989: viacerým poslúžil ako predpríprava na rýchlu konverziu z komunistov na plnokrvných nacionalistov a populistov.
organization of historical research conducted at the Faculty of Arts of
Comenius University in Bratislava during the 1950s. This process,
generally known as “Sovietization”, was determined by two ideologically
motivated purges, in 1950–1951 and 1957–1958, both organized by the
Communist regime. The example of the newly created departments of
historical research demonstrates the communist efforts to remodel the
Faculty of Arts into an “ideological institution” producing “cadres of
staunch propagators od Marxism-Leninism”. The study also shows the
reactions of both the old professors and the newly hired Marxist
historians on the Sovietization process at Comenius University.
The study deals with the institutionalization and subsequent development of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Arts during the existence of Slovak state (1939 – 1945). It introduces the main actors of this process and their activities aimed at the creation of a central institution for the coordination of scientific research in Slovakia. The plans for the Slovak Academy have its roots in the changes in the scientific community after the dissolution of Czechoslovak Republic in 1939. They were also greatly influenced by the long-term rivalry between the two Slovak centers of research in Martin and Bratislava. The Slovak Academy was established despite the disagreement of substantial part of scientific and political elites, which was based both on rational arguments and purely ideological reasons. Although the Academy gained the political backing and was opened in 1943, the support of its sympathizers was steadily waning while the opposition remained relatively strong. The financial problems, staff shortage and internal struggles seriously hampered its research activities. However, in the restored Czechoslovakia, all mentioned problems were used as a proof that the Academy was not an "ideological" institution of the wartime Slovak state. This oversimplified argument had greatly contributed to the survival and further development of this institution in the new political reality after 1945.
The book aspires to question the discourse of the traditional interpretation of Czech and Slovak historiography in Modern Age (esp. the late 19th and fi rst half of the 20th century), prefering problem-based questions to biographical issues. The emphasis lies here on methodology, the use of nationalist political agenda behind a historiographical framework and the question of generational (dis)continuity, especially concerning the emergence of Marxism within the Czech and Slovak social sciences during the 30’s.
The individual chapters of this collective monograph focus mainly on the historical context and the reflection of the work of Václav Chaloupecký (1882–1951), a distinguished Czech historian, the pupil of Jaroslav Goll and Josef Pekař, professor of Czechoslovak history and also (in 1937/38) the rector of the Comenius University in Bratislava, who after the Munich treaty and again after 1945 continued his academic career at the Charles University in Prague.
Due to recently published monographs on Václav Chaloupecký and Karel Stloukal, two of the most important academic figures of the “1914 generation”, biographical and overview chapters are not part of this monograph. Via Chaloupecký’s web of social and professional connections, the authors rather focus on particular subject matters and problems open to interpretation. Chaloupecký’s role as the Bratislava-based promoter of the newly forged “picture of Czechoslovak history” serves here as a pars pro toto, a crossroad leading to a different contemporary field of questions.
The monograph attempts to address mainly the critical reception of Chaloupecký’s theses and works, usually and generally linked to the “Czechoslovakism” label and the issues of historiographical pratice and public actions of Chaloupecký’s Czech and Slovak professional companions including teachers, colleagues and pupils as well.
its beginnings until 1948. The most important periods of the national story were identified on the basis of an
analysis of the most important Slovak historical works of the period studied. The Slovak case is a typical
example whereby a national story has been constructed despite the lack of a relevant state tradition. One of the
major concerns of Slovak historiography has been to prove that the Slovaks have a national story which is
distinct from those of the Czechs or the Hungarians. The seminal periods in the national story are those where
the nation has been shown to be independent or autonomous. The development of views on particular nodal
points open to dispute also depends on other factors such as the period, the historian’s aim, and ideological
pressure. The aim by 1948 was the creation of an independent Slovak national story although its radical
nationalist version was rejected after 1945.
The study deals with the question of continuity between pre- and post 1989 Czech and Slovak historiography. This problem is demonstrated on cases of these two much criticized types of narratives - historical-totalitarian (Czech case) and nationalist (in Slovak case). The analysis is based on the recent discussions among Czech historians and attempts to apply some of the conclusions on the Slovak case. Main assertion of the study is that the popularity of positivism and political history, narrow ethnocentrism and distrusts towards "complex" theoretical approaches is a heritage of the normalization era. As a result, the popularity of both mentioned historiographical approaches is not only a manifestation of political instrumentalisation of the past, but it is also results of their simplicity and familiarity for many historians. In the post-1989 Czech and Slovak historiography the interest in new themes was generally not accompanied by the interest in the modern methodological approaches. The analysis shows enduring distrust towards modern theories and methodologies, which are seen as the main causes of (re)ideologisation of history as a science.
"It is impossible, after reading this volume, to still give any credit to those who claimed that 1989 was a revolution without ideas, or could not be a revolution because it offered no ideas. We should be grateful that a new generation of scholars—most of whom not burdened by the assumptions and affinities that have inhibited participants and contemporary observers—can look with a cool eye both at the thinking that accompanied radical change and at the sometimes bizarre amalgams that have furnished political language in the last quarter-century in East Central Europe." - Padraic Kenney, Professor of History and International Studies, Indiana University
"This is the most comprehensive and balanced intellectual history so far available of post-communist East Central Europe, and it is particularly instructive on the diversity of the field. The book is essential reading for those who want to know how the multiple transformations of the region were understood from within." - Jóhann P. Árnason, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, La Trobe University,Melbourne
Comparative workshop on recent history of political and social thought in East Central Europe
Prague, May 20-22, 2011
Aarhus, January 30-31, 2013
NEMMA - Network on European Memory of Mass Atrocities
Slovak intellectuals in the service of CPS gained a significant influence during the wartime era. It was because of their activities in the anti-fascist struggle either in domestic (e. g. Ladislav Novomeský) or foreign resistance (e. g. Vladimír Clementis). Prior to 1948 coup, they utilized their position in order to establish their own visions of the party politics. Important part of this discourse was the so called “Slovak national question” and its interpretation in the future communist Czechoslovakia. After the February 1948, Slovak communist intellectuals actively participated in the development of communist project. Appointed into high government positions and in the name of building the new Utopia, Slovak communist intellectuals theoretically justified and practically participated on a number of controversial decisions.
However, the struggle against “bourgeoisie nationalism” in the early 1950s caused the elimination of virtually all members of “traditional” Slovak communist intelligentsia from political life. Slovak intellectual elites were condemned as bearers of Slovak nationalism and separatism. Among the party representatives a strong “anti-intellectual” tendency and mistrust towards “old intelligentsia” prevailed. Slovak communist intellectual elites had to cope with their new, inferior position both in the party organization as well as in public life. In addition, the Party leadership clearly articulated that in the future, it will count upon the new generation of communist intelligentsia, fully indoctrinated by People’s Republic education system.
Bad Wiessee, 26. – 29. 10. 2017.