Three histories of one Slovakia. On Polish literature of the interwar period on the situation of Slovaks in the face of the fall of the Habsburg monarchy

• Published in: Folia historica Cracoviensia Vol. 25; no. 2; pp. 129 - 162
• Main Author: Świątek, Adam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 31.12.2019
• ISSN: 0867-8294; 2391-6702
• DOI: 10.15633/fhc.3603

The aim of this article is to show the attitude of Polish interwar literature (political commentary, historiography) towards the role of Slovaks in building the First Czechoslovak Republic and their situation in the state they shared with Czechs. The collected material has been divided into three categories: pro-Hungarian, pro-Czech (pro-Czechoslovak) and pro-Slovak, but the author also notes an interest in Slovakia related to the Slavic studies conducted during the Second Polish Republic. The works discussed in this article attempted to compare the Slovaks’ situation under the Hungarian rule and in Czechoslovakia; to answer the question whether the Czechoslovak nation existed; and to suggest to whom the Polish state should bind its future on the international arena (support Hungary’s aspirations to recover Slovakia, establish good relations with Prague, or support the Slovak nationalist movement against Czechs).