First Czechoslovak Republic
Slovakia, 1918–1938. Draft, not yet reviewed
The First Czechoslovak Republic was the first Czechoslovak state that existed from 1918 to 1938, a union of ethnic Czechs and Slovaks. The Martin Declaration, proclaimed in Martin on 30 October 1918, was effectively a declaration of independence from the Kingdom of Hungary. Czechoslovakia was forced to cede its Sudetenland region to Germany on 1 October 1938 as part of the Munich Agreement. It also ceded southern parts of Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia to Hungary and the Trans-Olza region in Silesia to Poland.
Seat of power: Prague
Rulers
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk
President of Czechoslovakia, 1918–1935
With the fall of Austria-Hungary in late 1918, the First Czechoslovak Republic received recognition from the Allied powers and Masaryk was recognised as head of its provisional government. He was formally elected president in November, and was reelected three times subsequently. Masaryk presided over a period of stability as Czechoslovakia emerged as a strong democratic state.
Portrait of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Edvard Beneš
President of Czechoslovakia, 1935–1938
As president, Beneš faced two major crises, which both resulted in his resignation. His first resignation came after the Munich Agreement and subsequent German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1938, which resulted in his government's exile in the United Kingdom.
Portrait of Edvard Beneš: UnknownUnknown . Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; ..., Public domain, file
Culture
- The constitution identified the "Czechoslovak nation" as the creator and principal constituent of the Czechoslovak state and established Czech and Slovak as official languages.
- The economy of the new Czechoslovak Republic had a reasonable future because Slovak agriculture could sustain the population and Czech industry gained access to the Danube trade route.
- National minorities were assured special protection, and in districts where they constituted 20% of the population, members of minority groups were granted full freedom to use their language in everyday life, in schools, and in matters dealing with authorities.
Picture
On the morning of 30 October 1918, 108 delegates attended the meeting in the Tatra Bank in Martin and elected a twelve-member Slovak National Council, drawn mainly from the Slovak National Party.
Image: User:Darwinek, CC BY-SA 3.0, file
Sources
- First Czechoslovak Republic (Wikipedia)
- First Czechoslovak Republic (Wikidata)
- About the picture (Wikipedia)
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.