I remember when I heard about Slovakian independence back in 1993; I thought “Why are they doing this? Haven’t they been united with the Czechs for centuries?” Well, it turns that wasn’t the case; Slovakia has almost always been under the rule of somebody else – Hungary, the Holy Roman Empire, the Hapsburgs – and the union with the Czechs was artificial, presented as a done deal by the victorious Allies after World War One.

Author Stanislav Kirschbaum traces Slovak history from the Paleolithic to modern times (the book was published in 1995). There were two short periods in the Middle Ages when Slovakia managed to scrape out a sort of independence – in the sixth century AD as the Kingdom of Samo, and in the ninth century AD as part of the Great Moravian Empire. Both of these states were a little dubious; the Kingdom of Samo was founded by a Frankish merchant adventurer, the eponymous Samo, who joined the locals in battle against the Huns. He was so impressive he was made king (and provided with 12 wives, who bore him 22 sons and 15 daughters). Alas, his kingdom didn’t last long; due to the paucity of documentation nobody is quite sure where it was or what happened to it. The Great Moravian Empire has better records; it was composed of Moravia (what would now be the eastern Czech Republic) and Nitra (what would now be western Slovakia). It didn’t last that long either, falling to a combination of internecine disputes and the Magyar invasions in the ninth and tenth centuries AD.

After that, it’s pretty much all the Hapsburgs. What’s now Slovakia was generally administered as part of Hungary, which was in turn a component of the Hapsburg Dual Monarchy. (OK, I know the history is a lot more complicated than that but I’m keeping it simple). There were various proposals for Slovak nationalism but nothing came of them. Eventually (1918) Czechoslovakia (the Slovaks preferred Czecho-slovakia) emerged, until the Nazis arrived in 1936. The parts of Czechoslovakia that weren’t directly absorbed into the Reich became the Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia and the Republic of Slovakia. Kirschbaum gets noticeably apologetic here; Slovakia was nominally a minor Axis ally. The Slovaks didn’t have much choice in the matter, of course, but they still participated in the invasion of Poland, contributed two divisions to the Eastern Front – and rounded up Jews for shipment. The roundups were carried out by the Slovak paramilitary Hlinka Guard and Freiwillige Schutzstaffel made up of Slovaks of German ancestry. The Slovak leader, Jozef Tiso, publicly approved of Jewish deportation but privately issued between 30000-40000 “presidential exceptions” which saved Jews – temporarily. In 1944, Slovakia revolted against the Germans; the revolt was quickly crushed and the remaining Jews rounded up.

After the war, it was Czechoslovakia again. Slovak requests for independence or some sort of federal state didn’t get very far with the Allies or the Soviets. Czechoslovakia didn’t do that badly as a Soviet protectorate; it had the highest standard of living of any Warsaw pact nation. However when the USSR collapsed the Slovaks finally got their chance and voted for independence.

This is a scholarly book; it’s pretty heavy, especially when tracing Slovak politics and history through the long years of Hapsburg domination. Many Slovak nationalist, religious and literary figures are mentioned and they can be hard to keep track of. No illustrations, but several good maps in the front matter illustrating Slovak history and geography. Certainly worth a read for learning about Slovakia. ( )

This review is from: A History of Slovakia: The Struggle for Survival (Paperback)

As the author, Kirschbaum, is a political scientist by training, it should not come as a surprise that the book is heavy on the political affairs of the history of Slovakia. This doesn't help in regards to reading the book, as it is heavy on the political nature of the country, especially the modern era. He provides a lot of names, dates, numbers and abbreviations in quick succession, which can bog down the reading. However it is one of the few histories of Slovakia in English, so is good in that regard. Just a shame that he glosses over several key events, such as the entire Second World War, while going into heavy detail of the post-193 political dealings of leading Slovak politicians. ( )