FadeTheButcher
10-07-2004, 10:10 PM
This will be a work in progress, but its well worth it, as some disinformation is still floating around on the 'net.
"Since the formation of the state of Czechoslovakia in 1918, there had always been a substantial number of Slovaks who had resented their incorporation in the Czechoslovak union. In fact, the popularity of the biggest political organisation in Slovakia, the Slovak People's Party, was based in large measure on its opposition to Czech dominion.
The Slovak People's party, which drew its support largely from the rural, Roman Catholic population, had been founded in 1905 by a Roman Catholic priest, Andrej Hlinka, to fight for Slovakia's independence from Hungary when it was still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Dissatisfied with the role conceded the Slovaks in the Czechoslovak union formed after the First World War, Hlinka and his party continued to struggle for Slovakia's independence, but now against the Czechs instead of the Hungarians. With the exception of a brief period from 1927 to 1929, when it entered the national government in return from promises of greater regional autonomy for Slovakia, the Hlinka party consistently opposed the Prague regime. Upon his death on August 16, 1938, Hlinka was succeeded as acting head of the party by Monsignor Jozef Tiso, another Roman Catholic priest, who had served as minister of health in the national government in 1927. After the Munich agreement of September 29, 1938, with the national government demoralised and the Czechoslovak union apparently on the verge of dissolution, Tiso conducted negotiations with Prague which led to an agreement of October 7, 1938, granting Slovakia far-reaching autonomy over its internal affairs and Tiso's appointment as Slovakia's prime minister.
In February 1939, after Hitler had evidently made up his mind to destroy the Czecho-Slovak state, the Nazis began to exert pressure on Slovak nationalists to sever all connections with Prague. The Czechs for their part, alarmed by the growing intrasigeance of the Slovaks, sought assurances from the Slovak government that it would not secede from the Czecho-Slovak union. When these assurances were not forthcoming, the Prague government on March 12 dismissed Tiso and jailed leading advocates of the Slovakian independence movement. It was this crisis over Slovakia that gave Hitler the opportunity to arrange the final breakup of Czechoslovakia and the excuse to occupy the Czech provinces of Bohemia and Moravia.
On March 14, under German pressure, the Slovak parliament declared Slovakia's independence and Tiso again became prime minister. On the following day, as his first official act, Tiso asked Hitler to take Slovakia under Germany's protection, a request the Nazi leader at once granted.
The new state was in dire need of protection, Slovakia had already been shorn of much of its territory. Immediantly after the Munich agreement Poland, as a reward for its tacit support of Germany during the Sudeten crisis, had been encouraged by Hitler to take the Teschen region at the juncture of the Czech and Slovak provinces. One month later, on November 1, 1939, a German-Italian court of arbitration had compelled Slovakia to turn over a broad strip of territory along its southern border to Hungary. What was left of the country now maintained a precarious existence as the sufference of Germany, always subject to the threat that any refusal to yield to German demands might result in Slovakia's complete subjection to Hungary, a fate which had already befallen the Carpatho-Ukraine, which the Germans had delivered up to Hungary on March 15, the day after the Carpatho-Ukraine had proclaimed its own indepedence.
Too late, Tiso tried to make a compromise of sorts with the Czechs by appointing Karol Sidor, prime minister of Slovakia under Czech auspices from March 12 to 14, to the critical post of minister of the interior in his new government, but Sidor remained in office for only one day. Tiso now evidently saw no alternative but to staff his cabinet exclusively with Slovak nationalists who were known to favour cooperation with the Germans. To take the place of Sidor as minister of the interior he apointed Dr. Vojtech Tuka, whom he had previously named deputy prime minister, as minister for foreign affairs he selected Ferdinand Durcansky. Both men had played leading roles in severing Slovakia's connections with Prague, and it was Tuka who in February 1939 had been entrusted by Hitler with a message to Slovak leaders advising them to demand complete independence. With the exception of the minister of war, Ferdinand Catlos, a political independent, all members of Tiso's cabinet belonged to the Slovak People's party.
This cabinet was to remain in office until October 29, 1939, when, in a reorganisation of the Slovak government, Tiso was elected president of the Slovak Republic and a new cabinet was formed with Tuka as prime minister.
Hitler's promise to Tiso of March 15, 1939, to take Slovakia under his protection was followed by a formal treaty of protection between Germany and Slovakia, signed on March 18 and 23. By the terms of this treaty the German Reich guaranteed the political independence of the Slovakian state and the integrity of its territory. To do so effectively the German Werhmacht was to have the right to set up military installations along Slovakia's western frontier, generally delineated by the eastern edge of the Little Carpathians, the White Carpathians, and the Javornik Mountains, and to man them with such forces as it considered necessary. Slovakia was to organise its own military forces and to conduct its foreign policy in close consultation with the German government.
In a supplementary protocol on economic and financial cooperation between Germany and Slovakia, particular emphasis was placed on agricultural production, the development of mines and industry, communication and transport. Slovakia was to have its own currency, with a Slovak National Bank to supervise the country's financial policies. This bank was to have the benefit of an advisor from the German Reichsbank, who was to be consulted by the Slovak government in drawing up the national budget and whose consent had to be obtained for all government loans. Future trade agreements between Germany and Slovakia were to be concluded on the principle that Germany would purchase Slovakia's agricultural products and raw materials and would supply finished goods or semifinished goods and capital equipment in return. Slovakia was not to conduct economic negotiations with other states before the conclusion of such agreements with Germany. A customs union between Germany and Slovakia was not envisaged, but for the time being there was to be no customs barrier between Slovakia, the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, and the Sudeten German territories.
Even after the conclusion of the treaty of protection, Hitler was undecided about what to do with Slovakia. Two days after his government signed the treaty, he briefed the commander in chief of the army on the international situation. The staff officer recording Hitler's views noted:
How long the Führer will adhere to the treaty concluded with Slovakia is doubtful. The High Command of the Army has the impression that when the time comes the Führer will rid himself of this, and will use Slovakia as a political bargaining counter between himself, Poland, and Hungary. For the time being, however, Hungary is to be kept in check. The Führer agrees with the proposed frontier delimitation (line of the Waag) [the river Vah, presumably the military frontier between Slovakia and the Protectorate]. Should Slovakia be partitioned, the eastern frontier (Nitra line) is to become the frontier and Pressburg [Brataslava, the capital of Slovakia] is to be included.
While the fate of Slovakia was still under discussion, the German army proceeded to occupy an area along the Czech border considerably larger than that provided for by the treaty of protection. In this so-called zone of protection, it demanded control over all economic establishments involved in war production, the power to take all measures considered necessary for the defence of the area, and the exclusion of all Slovak forces. Elsewhere in Slovakia, German occupation forces were to remain until all "Czech" arms and material had been removed.
Hitler was annoyed by Slovak government protests against these demands as well as by its reluctance to sign a treaty acknowledging the German army's sovereign rights in the zone of protection. "The Führer said he wished the negotiations to be conducted energetically and resolutely which, together with our concrete efforts, must lead to early success," an aide recorded on June 20. "The prerequisite for the proposed support of Slovakia is the complete acceptance of our demands, the more so as Slovakia is dependent on our military, economic, and financial aid." Despite Hitler's pressure, it was not until August 12, 1939, that a treaty on the zone of protection was finally signed defining the extent of the German occupation zone and Germany's rights there. The Slovaks were conceded token representation of their troops in the zone; but apart from that they had been forced to concede all along the line.
Hitler's decision to attack Poland ended all possibility that he might use Slovakia in bargaining with that country. This decision, in fact, led to a reversal of the previous situation, for the Germans now proposed to use Poland as bait to secure greater cooperation from Slovakia. On August 24, 1939, the German Foreign Office informed the Slovak government that "according to the information available here, Polish operations against the Slovak frontier can be expected at any time." To guard against surprises, Germany asked that Slovakia allow the commander in chief of the German army to assume immediate control of the Slovak army in order to safeguard Slovakia's northern frontier, and that the German Luftwaffe be allowed to occupy the airfield at Zisper-Neudorf. If the Slovak government provided the cooperation Germany expected, the German government was prepared to guarantee Slovakia's frontier with Hungary, and, in the event of war between Germany and Poland, to work for the return of the regions Slovakia had lost to Poland in 1938. The Germans promised further that if it should come to war, Slovak forces would not be employed outside Slovakia.
"Since the formation of the state of Czechoslovakia in 1918, there had always been a substantial number of Slovaks who had resented their incorporation in the Czechoslovak union. In fact, the popularity of the biggest political organisation in Slovakia, the Slovak People's Party, was based in large measure on its opposition to Czech dominion.
The Slovak People's party, which drew its support largely from the rural, Roman Catholic population, had been founded in 1905 by a Roman Catholic priest, Andrej Hlinka, to fight for Slovakia's independence from Hungary when it was still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Dissatisfied with the role conceded the Slovaks in the Czechoslovak union formed after the First World War, Hlinka and his party continued to struggle for Slovakia's independence, but now against the Czechs instead of the Hungarians. With the exception of a brief period from 1927 to 1929, when it entered the national government in return from promises of greater regional autonomy for Slovakia, the Hlinka party consistently opposed the Prague regime. Upon his death on August 16, 1938, Hlinka was succeeded as acting head of the party by Monsignor Jozef Tiso, another Roman Catholic priest, who had served as minister of health in the national government in 1927. After the Munich agreement of September 29, 1938, with the national government demoralised and the Czechoslovak union apparently on the verge of dissolution, Tiso conducted negotiations with Prague which led to an agreement of October 7, 1938, granting Slovakia far-reaching autonomy over its internal affairs and Tiso's appointment as Slovakia's prime minister.
In February 1939, after Hitler had evidently made up his mind to destroy the Czecho-Slovak state, the Nazis began to exert pressure on Slovak nationalists to sever all connections with Prague. The Czechs for their part, alarmed by the growing intrasigeance of the Slovaks, sought assurances from the Slovak government that it would not secede from the Czecho-Slovak union. When these assurances were not forthcoming, the Prague government on March 12 dismissed Tiso and jailed leading advocates of the Slovakian independence movement. It was this crisis over Slovakia that gave Hitler the opportunity to arrange the final breakup of Czechoslovakia and the excuse to occupy the Czech provinces of Bohemia and Moravia.
On March 14, under German pressure, the Slovak parliament declared Slovakia's independence and Tiso again became prime minister. On the following day, as his first official act, Tiso asked Hitler to take Slovakia under Germany's protection, a request the Nazi leader at once granted.
The new state was in dire need of protection, Slovakia had already been shorn of much of its territory. Immediantly after the Munich agreement Poland, as a reward for its tacit support of Germany during the Sudeten crisis, had been encouraged by Hitler to take the Teschen region at the juncture of the Czech and Slovak provinces. One month later, on November 1, 1939, a German-Italian court of arbitration had compelled Slovakia to turn over a broad strip of territory along its southern border to Hungary. What was left of the country now maintained a precarious existence as the sufference of Germany, always subject to the threat that any refusal to yield to German demands might result in Slovakia's complete subjection to Hungary, a fate which had already befallen the Carpatho-Ukraine, which the Germans had delivered up to Hungary on March 15, the day after the Carpatho-Ukraine had proclaimed its own indepedence.
Too late, Tiso tried to make a compromise of sorts with the Czechs by appointing Karol Sidor, prime minister of Slovakia under Czech auspices from March 12 to 14, to the critical post of minister of the interior in his new government, but Sidor remained in office for only one day. Tiso now evidently saw no alternative but to staff his cabinet exclusively with Slovak nationalists who were known to favour cooperation with the Germans. To take the place of Sidor as minister of the interior he apointed Dr. Vojtech Tuka, whom he had previously named deputy prime minister, as minister for foreign affairs he selected Ferdinand Durcansky. Both men had played leading roles in severing Slovakia's connections with Prague, and it was Tuka who in February 1939 had been entrusted by Hitler with a message to Slovak leaders advising them to demand complete independence. With the exception of the minister of war, Ferdinand Catlos, a political independent, all members of Tiso's cabinet belonged to the Slovak People's party.
This cabinet was to remain in office until October 29, 1939, when, in a reorganisation of the Slovak government, Tiso was elected president of the Slovak Republic and a new cabinet was formed with Tuka as prime minister.
Hitler's promise to Tiso of March 15, 1939, to take Slovakia under his protection was followed by a formal treaty of protection between Germany and Slovakia, signed on March 18 and 23. By the terms of this treaty the German Reich guaranteed the political independence of the Slovakian state and the integrity of its territory. To do so effectively the German Werhmacht was to have the right to set up military installations along Slovakia's western frontier, generally delineated by the eastern edge of the Little Carpathians, the White Carpathians, and the Javornik Mountains, and to man them with such forces as it considered necessary. Slovakia was to organise its own military forces and to conduct its foreign policy in close consultation with the German government.
In a supplementary protocol on economic and financial cooperation between Germany and Slovakia, particular emphasis was placed on agricultural production, the development of mines and industry, communication and transport. Slovakia was to have its own currency, with a Slovak National Bank to supervise the country's financial policies. This bank was to have the benefit of an advisor from the German Reichsbank, who was to be consulted by the Slovak government in drawing up the national budget and whose consent had to be obtained for all government loans. Future trade agreements between Germany and Slovakia were to be concluded on the principle that Germany would purchase Slovakia's agricultural products and raw materials and would supply finished goods or semifinished goods and capital equipment in return. Slovakia was not to conduct economic negotiations with other states before the conclusion of such agreements with Germany. A customs union between Germany and Slovakia was not envisaged, but for the time being there was to be no customs barrier between Slovakia, the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, and the Sudeten German territories.
Even after the conclusion of the treaty of protection, Hitler was undecided about what to do with Slovakia. Two days after his government signed the treaty, he briefed the commander in chief of the army on the international situation. The staff officer recording Hitler's views noted:
How long the Führer will adhere to the treaty concluded with Slovakia is doubtful. The High Command of the Army has the impression that when the time comes the Führer will rid himself of this, and will use Slovakia as a political bargaining counter between himself, Poland, and Hungary. For the time being, however, Hungary is to be kept in check. The Führer agrees with the proposed frontier delimitation (line of the Waag) [the river Vah, presumably the military frontier between Slovakia and the Protectorate]. Should Slovakia be partitioned, the eastern frontier (Nitra line) is to become the frontier and Pressburg [Brataslava, the capital of Slovakia] is to be included.
While the fate of Slovakia was still under discussion, the German army proceeded to occupy an area along the Czech border considerably larger than that provided for by the treaty of protection. In this so-called zone of protection, it demanded control over all economic establishments involved in war production, the power to take all measures considered necessary for the defence of the area, and the exclusion of all Slovak forces. Elsewhere in Slovakia, German occupation forces were to remain until all "Czech" arms and material had been removed.
Hitler was annoyed by Slovak government protests against these demands as well as by its reluctance to sign a treaty acknowledging the German army's sovereign rights in the zone of protection. "The Führer said he wished the negotiations to be conducted energetically and resolutely which, together with our concrete efforts, must lead to early success," an aide recorded on June 20. "The prerequisite for the proposed support of Slovakia is the complete acceptance of our demands, the more so as Slovakia is dependent on our military, economic, and financial aid." Despite Hitler's pressure, it was not until August 12, 1939, that a treaty on the zone of protection was finally signed defining the extent of the German occupation zone and Germany's rights there. The Slovaks were conceded token representation of their troops in the zone; but apart from that they had been forced to concede all along the line.
Hitler's decision to attack Poland ended all possibility that he might use Slovakia in bargaining with that country. This decision, in fact, led to a reversal of the previous situation, for the Germans now proposed to use Poland as bait to secure greater cooperation from Slovakia. On August 24, 1939, the German Foreign Office informed the Slovak government that "according to the information available here, Polish operations against the Slovak frontier can be expected at any time." To guard against surprises, Germany asked that Slovakia allow the commander in chief of the German army to assume immediate control of the Slovak army in order to safeguard Slovakia's northern frontier, and that the German Luftwaffe be allowed to occupy the airfield at Zisper-Neudorf. If the Slovak government provided the cooperation Germany expected, the German government was prepared to guarantee Slovakia's frontier with Hungary, and, in the event of war between Germany and Poland, to work for the return of the regions Slovakia had lost to Poland in 1938. The Germans promised further that if it should come to war, Slovak forces would not be employed outside Slovakia.