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Slovak sources usually do not deny that many Hungarian teachers and civil clerks were forced to leave or left for Hungary voluntarily, the numbers however are unclear but census do show a rapid decline in the number of Hungarians. Some teachers and civil servants were expelled from Czechoslovakia while some left due to the harsh circumstances. There are many examples of Hungarians who were forced to leave their homes from this territory (two famous ones are the families of ]<ref></ref>, and of ]). The high number of refugees (and even more from ]) necessitated entire new housing projects in ] (Mária-Valéria telep, Pongrácz-telep), which gave shelter to refugees numbering at least in the ten-thousands.<ref></ref> Slovak sources usually do not deny that many Hungarian teachers and civil clerks were forced to leave or left for Hungary voluntarily, the numbers however are unclear but census do show a rapid decline in the number of Hungarians. Some teachers and civil servants were expelled from Czechoslovakia while some left due to the harsh circumstances. There are many examples of Hungarians who were forced to leave their homes from this territory (two famous ones are the families of ]<ref></ref>, and of ]). The high number of refugees (and even more from ]) necessitated entire new housing projects in ] (Mária-Valéria telep, Pongrácz-telep), which gave shelter to refugees numbering at least in the ten-thousands.<ref></ref>

=== The aftermath of World War II ===
====Preparations for a post-war Czechoslovak state without Hungarians====
{{quote box
| width = 30em
| bgcolor = #c6dbf7
| align = right
| quote = "After this war there will be no minority rights in the spirit of the old system which began after the First World War. After punishing all the delinquents who committed crimes against the state, the overwhelming majority of the Germans and Hungarians must leave Czechoslovakia. This is our resolute standpoint... Our people cannot live with the Germans and Hungarians in our fatherland."
| source = — '']'s opinion about the ''Kosice Government Program''<ref>Cas, Bratislava, vol. 2, no 19, May 12, 1945</ref>
}}

In 1945, at the end of ], Czechoslovakia was recreated and Czechoslovak politicians aimed to completely remove the ] and ] minorities from the territory of Czechoslovakia via ].<ref group="note">Ethnic cleansing is a term that has come to be used broadly to describe all forms of ethnically-motivated violence, ranging from murder, rape, and torture to the forcible removal of populations ({{cite book|title=Ethnic cleansing in the Balkans: nationalism and the destruction of tradition|first1=Cathie|last1=Carmichael|edition=Illustrated|publisher=Routledge|year=200
2|ISBN=0415274168, 9780415274166|page=2}})</ref> Both minorities were considered "]" because representatives of those two minorities, such as ] and ], and their two mother countries were instrumental in the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia before World War II, via the ] and the ].<ref name="marko"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Jablonicky|1965| p=401}}</ref>
During the last years of the war, Beneš, the leader of the ], worked toward resolving the minority problem of ]. This meant that the German and Hungarian minorities of Czechoslovakia had to be transferred or assimilated,<ref name=Kaplan/><ref>Otáhoalová, op. cit., pp. 199-200, 294-6; J.W. Brügel, Tschechen und Deutsche, vol. II, Munich 1974; E. Benes, Demokracie dnes zítra, London 1946, pp. 176-7; J. Kŕen, "Odsun Némcú ve světle nových dokumentů" in Vídeňské svobodné listy, Vienna, vol.34; Klimeš et al.,op.cit., p.56</ref> because they were the biggest obstacle standing in the way of forming postwar Czechoslovakia into a nation-state.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kamusella|2009| p=774}}</ref> The idea that the ] in Slovakia must be destroyed dominated Czechoslovak national policy for an extended period.<ref name=Rieber>{{Harvnb|J. Rieber|2000| pp=84-85}}</ref> Meantime, ], leader of the ] had set up a rival government in ]. In April 1945 Gottwald and Beneš met in ] and they ], (and announced the ''"Kosicky vladny program"'' in English: ''"Kosice Government Program"'') which was a mixture of Soviet supported ] and non-communists. All political groups (including the members of the post in-exile and the new government) of Czechoslovakia agreed that the country should be formed into a nation state.<ref name=Kaplan>{{Harvnb|Kaplan|1987| p=26}}</ref> ]The Kosice Government Program -under the supervision of the Central Committee of the All-Soviet Communist Party-<ref>{{Harvnb|J. Rieber|2000| p=83}}</ref> was created under this spirit. The Hungarian question is mainly dealt with in Chapters VIII; XI and XV out of the 16 chapters of the programme. Chapter VIII deprived the Hungarian and German inhabitants of their citizenship. Chapter XI declared the confiscation of Hungarian landed property while chapter XV ordered to close nationality schools. From chapters VIII and IX, adopted by the cabinet council on April 5, 1945: ''"As to the Czechoslovak citizens of German and Hungarian nationality, who were Czechoslovak citizens prior to the Munich Pact in 1938, their citizenship will be confirmed and their eventual return to the Republic may be permitted only in the following categories: for anti-Nazis and anti-Fascists who fought against Henlein and Hungarian irredentism, who fought for Czechoslovakia, and who after the Munich Pact and after March 15 were persecuted for their loyalty to Czechoslovakia...The Czechoslovak citizenship of the other Czechoslovak German and Hungarian citizens will be cancelled. Although they may again express a choice for Czechoslovakia, public authorities will retain the right of individual decision."''<ref>Chapters VIII and IX of the "Statute issued in Košice" , Slovakia, April 5, 1945 (Program of the new Czechoslovak Government, the National Front of Czechs and Slovaks, adopted by the cabinet council on April 5, 1945)</ref> According to the ] promulgated in May 9, 1948: ''"We have decided now that our liberated State shall be a national state, rid of all hostile elements, living in brotherly harmony with the family of Slav States and in friendship with all peace-loving nations of the world. (§ 9)"''<ref name=constitution>The Constitution of the Czechoslovak Republic; Constitutional Act ofMay 9th, 1948. Prague, Czechoslovak Ministry of Information, 1948.</ref> furthermore ''"The Czechoslovak Republic is a unitary State of two Slav nations possessing equal rights, the Czechs and the Slovaks. (Article II/1 )"''<ref name=constitution/> The key parts of the nationality policy were written by the vip members of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, like ], ], ] and ].<ref>{{Harvnb|Lastovicka|1960|pp=449-471}}</ref> ] said: ''"The past seven tormenting years have changed our opinion and the opinion of the majority of the world on the minority politics. This is the fourth lesson we are drawing from the fall of 1938, a lesson pointing to the historic crime of the Hungarian and German minorities in the destruction of the Republic of Czechoslovakia, a lesson showing the sufferings of the population of Czechoslovakia, a lesson on the inevitability of expelling and exchanging the minority populations in the interest of the European peace and the peaceful coexistence of the nations."'' <ref>G Husak "Poucenia z jesene 1938," Nove Slovo, vol. 2, no 20, October 12, 1945, 1-3</ref> Because the German and Hungarian minorities were pre-war Czechoslovak citizens, Beneš had to adopt decrees that deprived them of their citizenship.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kamusella|2009| pp=774-775}}</ref> In 1945, President ] revoked the citizenship of Germans and Hungarians by decree #33, except those with an active anti-fascist past (see ]), and Czechoslovakia maintained that the peace agreement must include a provision stating that "Hungarians whose Czechoslovak citizenship will now be revoked will be recognized by Hungary as Hungarian citizens and will be settled on its territory, and Hungary will bear responsibility for these individuals from the moment they cross Hungary's border and will provide for them'.<ref name=Rieber/>

====The forced deportation of the Hungarians====
{{quote box
| width = 25em
| bgcolor = #c6dbf7
| align = right
| quote = "When President Beneš" was in Moscow, I learned from him that the Soviet government agreed to his proposals to deport approximately two-thirds of the German and Hungarian minorities from Czechoslovakia"
| source = — ''A letter from A. Kerr to V.M. Molotov April 11, 1945.<ref name=Rieber/>
}}
]
The resettlement of about 700,000 Hungarians was envisaged at Kosice and subsequently reaffirmed by the National Front.<ref name=study>{{Harvnb|Country Study|1987| p=}}</ref> However, the succes of the Czechoslovak ] plan depended on the decisions of the ]s.<ref name=Kaplan/> In 1943, before the end of the war, Beneš already had the necessary approval of the ], ] and the ] to transfer the German and Hungarian population out of Czechoslovakia.<ref name=Kaplan/> But at the end of the war, when the American and British leaders saw the blueprint of Beneš's plan, they didn't support it.<ref name=Kaplan/> However, this solution fit into ]'s ]an policy, and on March 21, 1945, ] informed Beneš that the ] will try to support him to achieve his goal.<ref name=Kaplan2>{{Harvnb|Kaplan|1987| p=27}}</ref> ] informed the Czechoslovak government that ''"Stalin has an utterly positive standpoint on our demands in the matter of the transfer. He will allow us to carry out the transfer to ] and ], and, to a certain extent, also to ]"''<ref name=Kaplan2/> The ] approved the deportation of ] from Czechoslovakia,<ref name=Kaplan2/> but the removal of the complete Hungarian population proved to be more difficult, and finally failed.<ref name=Kaplan2/><ref name=Ther57>{{Harvnb|Ther|Siljak|2001| p=57}}</ref> The ] government attempted to apply the Potsdam Agreement on the Hungarian
population too, but the ] rejected this conception,<ref name=Kaplan2/> and
they also refused putting the Czechoslovak demands into the ] with Hungary.<ref name=Kaplan2/> The Hungarian government protested against the expel of the Hungarian population from Czechoslovakia and requested intervention from the Allies.<ref name=Kaplan3>{{Harvnb|Kaplan|1987| p=29}}</ref> When the Czechoslovak government realized that they had lost the support of the Western powers, who advised and supported negotiations with Hungary, they turned to an internal solution, and decided to eliminate the Hungarian minority by Slovakization and Slovak colonization.<ref name=Kaplan3/>
{{epigraph
| quote = "As we are throwing out three million Sudeten Germans, perhaps we could settle 300,000 Hungarians in this territory"
| cite = ] to ]<ref>Ibid.,meetings Sept.11,1945,July 12, 16, August 9, 1946; SÚA, fond MV, a.j. 2308/2515 B, district security conference 1947</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Kaplan|1987| p=32}}</ref>
}}
{{quote box
| width = 28em
| bgcolor = #c6dbf7
| align = left
| quote = "I remember the successive waves of hatred against the Hungarians, especially in the time after the war, when we focuse on our small Slovak revenge, taking no account of political affilitation or religion, when we were willing to come to terms even with Benes if he transferred enough Hungarians to the Sudeten lands, when we persecuted the Hungarians not as collaborators but just as unwanted aliens, when we hated not just Hungarians, but even their language. We need to apologise humbly for each Slovak misdeed, for the suffering thus caused to every individual Hungarian. It is not wolves, but of our citizens that we speak."Memoirs of Vladimír Mináč (1922-1996), member of the ], chairman of the ], and writer. (1990)<ref>{{Harvnb|Mináč|1993| pp=115-116}}</ref><ref name=CEP/>
}}
Decree NO. #071/1945 (''"Presidential edict concerning forced labor services of persons who had lost Czechoslovak citizenship; September 19, 1945"'') and #88/1945 (''"Decree of the President on the General obligation to Work (abrogated by law No. 65/1965)"'') authorized the Czechoslovak administration to draft people into labour service for one year.<ref name=CEP>{{Harvnb|C.M. Breuning|Dr. Lewis|Pritchard|2005| pp=140-143}}</ref> Under the disguise of 'labor recruiting' the deportation of Hungarians from South Slovakia began to the ],<ref name=CEP/><ref name=page90>{{Harvnb|J. Rieber|2000| p=90}}</ref> and their properties were confiscated.<ref name=CEP/> The transit trains were marked with the signs 'voluntary agricultural workers'.<ref name=CEP/> In fact, the real goal was to altere the ethnic composition of South Slovakia.<ref name=CEP/><ref name=page90/> These 'labor recruitings' were named by Czech historian ] as 'internal colonisations', and according to him: ''"'internal colonisation', the political aim of which was to transfer a part of the Hungarian minority away from the Hungarian border and to destroy it as a compact territorial unit. This colonisation also had an immediate industrial golal -to provide the depopulated areas with a workforce"''.<ref name=CEP/> Between July and August 1946 under the slogan ''"Slovak agricultural labour assisting the Czech lands"'' more Hungarians were deported to ].<ref name=CEP/> Eventually 40,000<ref name=Kaplan3/><ref name="Mandelbaum, p.40">{{Harvnb|Mandelbaum|2000| p=40}}</ref>-45,000<ref name=Kamusella775>{{Harvnb|Kamusella|2009| p=775}}</ref>-50,000<ref name=page90/> Hungarians were deported to Czech territories recently cleared of ], and their properties were confiscated by the state.<ref name=Migration/> According to the ], 41666 Hungarians had been deported from southern Slovakia.<ref name=SNA>Slovenský národný archív, Bratislava (], ] Acces date:2010-01-11) - Povereníctvo pôdohospodárstva a pozemkovej reformy - sekcia B ( ) box 304. tatistický preh ad náborom pracovných síl odsunutých na práce do iech.</ref>
Hungarians who stayed in Slovakia became the targets of the extremly strong slovak assimilation efforts.<ref name="Rieber, p. 93"/>

<div class="NavFrame" style="text-align:left; width:; background:#c6dbf7; margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;">
<div class="NavHead" style="background:#c6dbf7; padding-bottom:0; text-align:center; padding-left:1em">Number of Hungarians deported to the Czech borderlands from South Slovakia<ref name=SNA/></div>
<div class="NavContent" style="margin-bottom:.5em; padding:.2em; background-color:#c6dbf7">
{| style="width:100%; background:transparent"
| align="center" |
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:90%; text-align:center;"
! ]!! Number of ] (1930)<ref group="note">In 1930, according to the Czechoslovak ]</ref>!! Deported Hungarian families !! Deported Hungarian persons
|- bgcolor=""
|bgcolor="#c6dbf7"|Šamorín (now part of ])|| 27030|| 767 || 3951
|-
|bgcolor="none"|]|| 39070|| 698|| 3551
|-
|bgcolor="#c6dbf7"|]|| 53154|| 1483|| 6694
|-
|bgcolor="none"|]|| 41474|| 874|| 3972
|-
|bgcolor="#c6dbf7"|]|| 28431|| 694|| 2931
|-
|bgcolor="none"|]|| 19625|| 313|| 1391
|-
|bgcolor="#c6dbf7"|Hurbanovo (now part of ])|| 36940|| 966|| 3960
|-
|bgcolor="none"|Štúrovo (now part of ])|| 39483|| 1008|| 3956
|-
|bgcolor="#c6dbf7"|Želiezovce (now part of ])|| 24164|| 864|| 3282
|-
|bgcolor="none"|]|| 12190|| 198|| 675
|-
|bgcolor="#c6dbf7"|]|| 11023|| 97|| 437
|-
|bgcolor="none"|]|| 25 195|| 547 || 2156
|-
|bgcolor="#c6dbf7"|Tornaľa (now part of ])|| 17701|| 631|| 2615
|-
|bgcolor="none"|]|| 14767|| 100 || 380
|-
|bgcolor="#c6dbf7"|]|| 16737|| 83 || 390
|-
|bgcolor="none"|Kráľovský Chlmec ( now part of ])||24514|| 116||590
|-
|bgcolor="#c6dbf7"|'''together'''|| '''448 481'''|| '''9610'''|| '''41 666'''
|-
|}
|}
</div></div>

==== Hungarian-Slovak population exchanges ====
] (Érsekújvár) in September, 1946.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rubicon|2005| p=}}</ref>]]
{{epigraph
| quote = "The minorities in Central Europe must be liquidated, as they have been a source of trouble and a fifth column"
| cite = ], ÚPV, govt meeting April 16, 1946, secret part<ref name=Kaplan>{{cite book |title= The short march: the Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia, 1945-1948|last=Kaplan |first= Karel|authorlink= |coauthors= |year= 1987|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers |location= |isbn=9780905838960 |page=26 |pages= |url= |accessdate=}}</ref>
}}
] ] poster encouraging ] to move from ] to ] via the Slovak-Hungarian population exchange. The text says: Slovak Brothers! Do you want to come to Slovakia, your native land? Do you want to settle down and live among your fellow brothers? Do you want to work on your own land? Do you want your children to go to Slovak schools? Do you want to be citizens of the victorious Czechoslovak state? Do you want to occupy the lands and assets, that are prepared for you? Do you want to find good paying jobs in factories? If you do, come along, the Czechoslovak Republic is waiting for you!]]
The Czechoslovak leadership pressed for a complete cleansing of the country and the deportation of all Hungarians; however, the Allies prevented a unilateral expulsion,<ref name=Kaplan/> and instead they advised to solve the minoritie's problem on a negotiative way.<ref name=Kaplan3/> As a result, the Czechoslovak government resettled more than 40,000 Hungarians to the ], but this action evoked the protest of the ] and ], and for the latter one, it was a warning. Hungary proposed the reannexation of the solidly Hungarian areas (achieved in 1938 via the ], but on February 10, 1947, the ] declared it null and void), however, Czechoslovakia rejected this offer.<ref name="Mandelbaum, p.40"/> After this, ] pressed for a bilateral population exchange, to remove Hungarians, and gain Slovak population, to change the ethnic makeup of the country. This plan was initially rejected by Hungary. However, one of the unconcealed purpose of the deportation of the Hungarians to the Czech lands was, to force Hungary to signe the bilateral populaton exchange compact with Czechoslovakia.<ref>{{Harvnb|Šutaj|2005| pp=20-29}}</ref> Soon, Hungary realized, that the Allies are not interested in the fate of the Hungarian minority,<ref name=CEP/> and they won't halt the deportations (the peace treaty signed on 1947 did not include any provision concerning the protection of minorities).<ref name=CEP/> Under such a circumstances, Hungary finally signed the bilateral agreement with Czechoslovakia in ], on February 27, 1946.<ref name=Kaplan3/> The Hungarian government considered the birth of the contract as a big fiasco.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kertesz|1985| p=33}}</ref> The signatories were ], Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia and ], ]. The Czechoslovak government planned the removal of 250000<ref name=Kaplan3/><ref>SNA, ÚV KSS, 789. d., Záznam o zasad nu tí roz ší re né ho Pred sed níc tva KSS, kona nomdňa 16. 6. 1945.</ref> Hungarian people from South Slovakia to Hungary,<ref name=Kaplan3/> but only 44,129,<ref name=Kaplan3/>-45,475<ref name=Sutaj/> -generally well-to-do businessmen, tradesmen, farmers and intellectuals-<ref name=Migration>{{cite web|title=Human Rights For Minorities In Central Europe: Ethnic Cleansing In Post World War II Czechoslovakia: The Presidential Decrees Of Edward Benes, 1945-1948|url=http://migrationeducation.de/15.1.html?&rid=14&cHash=944ca081bb}}</ref> had been transferred under the bilateral exchange, while 71787 or 73200<ref name="gramma"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Bobák|1996|p=}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Zvara|1969|p=}}</ref><ref group="note">The exact number depending on the source used</ref> Slovaks from Hungary were resettled in South Slovakia. Slovaks leaving Hungary moved voluntarily, but Hungarians leaving Czechoslovakia were forcibly deported and their properties were taken away. 30,000 Hungarians -wo arrived to the country in 1938, thus they were not Czechoslovak citizens before- left the territories that were re-annexed by Hungary in 1938 (see ]) and then re-attached to Czechoslovakia after World War II. This was due to dropping out of the pension, social, and healthcare system.<ref></ref> In all, 89660 Hungarians arrived to Hungary from Czechoslovakia between 1945 and 1949.<ref name=Sutaj>{{cite web |url= http://www.sav.sk/?lang=en&charset=&doc=org-user&user_no=3325&action=publish|title= The Czechoslovak government policy and population exchange (A csehszlovák kormánypolitika és a lakosságcsere)|last1=Prof. PaedDr. Štefan Šutaj, DrSc. |first1= |year= 2007|work= |publisher=]|accessdate=2010-01-10}}</ref> Do to the dissatisfication with their new properties, soon half of the Slovaks who joined the relocation program moved back to Hungary.<ref name=CEP/>
{| class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align:center;font-size:90%;width:90%;margin-left:1em"
|+ style="background:#c6dbf7;"|'''Population changes between Czechoslovakia and Hungary (1945–1949)<ref name=Sutaj/>'''
|- style="background: #E5AFAA;text-align:center;font-size:95%;"
! abbr="Type" | Appointed for the bilateral Czechoslovak-Hungarian population transfer
! abbr="Frequency" | Number of persons
|-
| under article V. of the contract
| 105047 (27718 families)
|-
| under article VIII. of the contract
| 65200 (23552 families)
|-
|+ style="background:#E5AFAA;"|'''a'''
|- style="background: #E5AFAA;text-align:center;font-size:95%;"
! abbr="Type" | De facto transferred
! abbr="Frequency" | Number of persons
|-
| under article V. of the contract
| 45475
|-
| as war criminals, article VIII. of the contract
| 2905
|-
| "R" transport (regimists)
| 1034
|-
| before the contract came into effect
| 11837
|-
| from the liberation until the inauguration of the Czechoslovak administration
| 10196
|-
| after the contract came into effect, but beyond from it
| 11057
|-
| after the contract came into effect
| 1083
|-
| from ]
| 73
|-
| voluntarily
| 6000
|-
| '''together'''
| '''89660'''
|-
|}


===="re-Slovakization"==== ===="re-Slovakization"====
Line 185: Line 43:


Finally, at 25. July 1949, Czechoslovak and Hungarian delegation signed the Štrb protocol which ended the law disputes between Hungarian and Czechoslovak property and legal question and compensation of deported Hungarians.<ref></ref> Finally, at 25. July 1949, Czechoslovak and Hungarian delegation signed the Štrb protocol which ended the law disputes between Hungarian and Czechoslovak property and legal question and compensation of deported Hungarians.<ref></ref>
====The current Slovak-Hungarian political standpoint of the expulsions====
In 2002 before ] and ] ], Hungarian politician ] demanded the repeal of the ], but the ] asserted that ''"the decrees did not constitute an insurmountable obstacle to accession."''<ref name=Bernd>{{Harvnb|Bernd|2009| p=201}}</ref> Slovak politician Monika Beňová-Flašiková accused the Hungarian politicians for pushing revanchist policies which could destabilize Europe.<ref name=Bernd/> Later on the Hungarian members of the ] requested for compensation and for a symbolic apology to the victims of the expulsions.<ref name=Bernd/> As an answer, the Slovak government adopted a resolution in September 2007 which declared that the Beneš decrees are inalterable.<ref name=Bernd/>

===During Communism===
Czechoslovakia (being a Communist country at that time) financed the following purely Hungarian institutions for the Hungarians in Czechoslovakia as of early 1989: 386 kindergartens, 131 elementary schools, 98 secondary schools, 2 theatres, 1 special Hungarian language publishing house (6 publishing houses also publishing Hungarian literature) and 24 newspapers and journals.
The first Hungarian-language university in Slovakia was opened at the beginning of the 21st - the ].

According to ''The Minorities at Risk Project'':

{{cquote|During the communist regime, Slovak nationalism was largely kept in check by the strongly centralist Prague regime. The 1968 switch to a federal arrangement gave greater scope to Slovak nationalism, however. New policies of assimilation included progressive Slovakization of education, elimination of Hungarian place-names from signs, bans on using Hungarian in administrative dealings and in institutions and workplaces, and pressure to Slovakize Hungarian names. Nonetheless, the most significant exclusionary factor in Hungarians’ social situation under the communist regime was most likely their own refusal to integrate into the Czechoslovak system and to learn the language. Without a fluency in the official language, their economic and political opportunities were severely limited.<ref name=MAR>{{Harvnb|MAR|2006| p=}}</ref>}}

However, some Slovak sources{{who|date=March 2010}} they claim that:
*the federalisation was only notional (see e.g. ]){{Citation needed|date=October 2009}}
*no change to the minority laws occurred with respect to the year 1968
*during this time the number of Hungarian language schools and Hungarian-speaking people increased in Slovakia

===Since the independence of Slovakia===
Under Communism, the Hungarian minority issue was confined invariably to the position of Slovaks within the Czechoslovak state, and therefore it was ignored in any systematic way.<ref name=Smith155>{{Harvnb|Smith|2000| p=155}}</ref> But the ] reinforced national identities and demolished the ideology of 'the socialist unity of nations'.<ref name=Smith155/> The ] was a process of national redefinition and assertion in Slovakia.<ref name=Smith155/> The 1992 ] is derived from the concept of the Slovak nation state<ref name=Smith157>{{Harvnb|Smith|2000| p=157}}</ref><ref name="Slovakia.org"></ref>, to the exclusion of ].

====During the Mečiar era====
{{quote box
| width = 25em
| bgcolor = #c6dbf7
| align = right
| quote = "The oppression of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia gained momentum with the formation of the Slovak state in 1993, increasing even more sharply since ] came to power for the third time in December of 1994."
| source = — ], politician ]<ref name=Duray/>
}}
Under the premiership of Mečiar prone to ], exclusivist Slovak ],
and the use of extralegal measures, independent Slovakia slipped toward
].<ref name=Kamusella887>{{Harvnb|Kamusella|2009| p=887}}</ref> Mečiar turned the Hungarian minority into a scapegoat for Slovakia's bad economic situation.<ref name=Kamusella887/> Numerous articles and books containing ] ] appeared, and the Hungarians were accused for the destruction of the ']', and for the ‘one-millennium-long oppression’ of Slovak nation.<ref name=Kamusella887/>

] (1942-)]]
During the redrawing of the administrative boundaries of Slovakia, Hungarian politicians suggested two models; the so-called 'Komárno proposals'.<ref name=Smith159>{{Harvnb|Smith|2000| p=159}}</ref> The first proposal was a full ethnic autonomy of the southern Slovak districts with Hungarian majority, while the second suggestion was to create three counties in southern Slovakia to bring together the main centers of Hungarian population.<ref name=Smith159/> Although a territorial unit of this name ] before 1918, the borders proposed by SMK were significantly different. The proposed region would have encompassed a very long slice of southern Slovakia, with the explicit aim to create an administrative unit with ethnic-Hungarian majority. Hungarian minority politicians and intellectuals thought that such kind of administrative unit is essential for the long-term survival of the Hungarian minority. Both proposals were rejected by the Slovak government in favour of an eight county model of north-south (and not east-west) governance, which has been seen to weaken the electoral power of Hungarians.<ref name=Smith159/><ref name=Ramet>{{Harvnb|P. Ramet|1997| pp=131-134}}</ref> According to ], a politician of the ]:''"Administrative jurisdictions of Slovakia were geographically modified in a clear case of ].<ref name=Duray/> The administrative system governed by laws created in 1991,<ref group="note">Law pertaining to Local Administration. Collection of Laws of 1990, number 472. Law pertaining to the territorial and administrative jurisdictions. Collection of Laws of 1990, number 517.</ref> included 17 primary jurisdictions and 2 secondary jurisdictions, with a majority Hungarian population.<ref name=Duray/> The 1996 law<ref group="note">Law pertaining to the territorial and administrative reorganization of the Slovak Republic. Collection of Laws of 1996, number 221.</ref> eliminated this system of administration.<ref name=Duray/> In the reorganized system only 2 primary administrative jurisdictions have a Hungarian majority population (] and ]).<ref name=Duray/> Furthermore, 8 secondary administrative jurisdictions were created, 5 with Hungarian populations in the 10 to 30 per cent range.<ref name=Duray/> In 1998, these jurisdictions will have regional self governing communities, where the diminished proportion of Hungarians makes certain they will play a subordinate role in self government."''<ref name=Duray/> After the regions became autonomous in 2002, SMK was able to take power in the ] and it became part of the ruling coalition in several other regions.

Before the Slovak independence two main issues appeared regarding language: the right to use non-Slovakized versions of women's names and the use of bilingual street signs.<ref name=Smith157/> Non Slovaks were forced to Slovakize female personal names in official documents by attaching the Slovak feminine suffix '-ová'.<ref name="Bernd203">{{Harvnb|Bernd|2009| p=203}}</ref> Members of ethnic minorities were restricted in their choise of given names, as registry offices accepted only names from a limited list only.<ref name="Bernd203"/> After ten years wrangling, the seconf Dzurinda cabinet eased these restrictions.<ref name=Martin>{{Harvnb|Martin|Skalodny|1998| p=43}}</ref>

'''The use of the Hungarian language'''
{{see|Language law of Slovakia}}
{{see|Hungarian language}}
The Slovak Constitution from 1992 asserts that the ‘]’ on the territory of the ] is ].<ref name=Kamusella886>{{Harvnb|Kamusella|2009| p=886}}</ref> At the same time this constitution entails explicit provisions for ], including language right.<ref name=Bernd202>{{Harvnb|Bernd|2009| p=202}}</ref> These provisions were reinforced in 2001.<ref name=Bernd202/> ] like the '']'' (ratified by Slovakia in 1995) or the '']'' (ratified by Slovakia in 2001) and the ''1995 Treaty on Good Neighbourly Relations and Friendly Cooperations between Slovakia and ]'' protect the language rights of minorities.<ref name=Bernd202/> Article 34. of the 1992 constitution asserts that ''"citizens of ethnic minorities have the right to be educated in their language, the right to use it in dealings with authorities, and the right to participate in the solution of affairs concerning national minorities and ethnic groups".''<ref name="Bernd203"/> These provisions afford a high standard of protection, but still, these legislative instruments do not warrant the implementation of the postulated rights.<ref name=Bernd203/> In most cases the disfrancishement evolves when there is insufficient political will to legislate the provisions as ].<ref name=Bernd203/> This happened between 1992 and 1998 (i.e. under Mečiar's government).<ref name=Bernd203/>
Slovak nacionalist demands for a language law detaining the use of ] in public institutions already appeared in 1990.<ref name=Hobsbawm>{{Harvnb|Hobsbawm|1990| p=186}}</ref> Finally, the Meciar government pushed through legislation restricting the use of ] in public institutions.<ref name=Smith157/> In 1995, the ] passed Act No 270 on the State Language of Slovakia, which came into power on 1 January 1996.<ref name=Kamusella888>{{Harvnb|Kamusella|2009| p=888}}</ref> This act revoked the more tolerant Act No 428 passed in 1990.<ref name=Kamusella888/> The 1995 act emphasized the significance of the ] for Slovak nationalism and statehood, by consolidating the exclusivist ].<ref name=Kamusella888/> The new act considerably limited the use of minority languages, that is, of Hungarian, which had featured on bilingual signposts with placenames in predominantly Hungarian areas, and in ] school certificates issued to students in Hungarian minority schools.<ref name=Kamusella888/> According to Duray: ''"An official language law<ref group="note">Language Law of the Slovak Republic. Collection of Laws of 1996, number 270.</ref> was promulgated providing the legal framework for the official use of the Slovak language not only in official communications but also in everyday commerce, in the administration of religious bodies, and even in the realm of what is normally considered private interaction, for example, communications between patient and physician."''<ref name=Duray>{{Harvnb|Duray|1996| p=}}</ref> In 1999, the ] passed Act No 184 on the ''Use of the Languages of the Minority Communities'',<ref name=Kamusella888/> which reintroduced the institution of bilingual school certificates and provided that in communes with more than 20 percent of inhabitants belonging to a given minority, the minority language can be used in administration, and ] with placenames can be bilingual.<ref name=Kamusella888/> Furthermore, Article 10, prohibiting doing business and drafting contracts in any other ] but Slovak, was abolished from the Act.<ref name=Kamusella888/> However the act limits itself to only official contacts with the state and thus fails to overcome the 1996 act ensuring the use of Slovak in culture, schools and media.<ref name=Smith161>{{Harvnb|Smith|2000| p=161}}</ref> Language rights in education have also been a sphere of antagonism between the Slovak state and the Hungarian minority.<ref name=Smith>{{Harvnb|Smith|2000| p=158}}</ref> Bilingual education in priamary and secondary schools is currently permitted.<ref name=Smith/> However, the array of subjects that should be taught in each language remained a higly contested issue.<ref name=Smith/> Government proposals prior to the 1998 elections (i.e. under Mečiar's government) even suggested that certain subjects should be taught only by teachers of ']' to ensure that the Slovak population living in areas with significant Hungarian populations should be able to assimilate themselves into mainstream Slovak life.<ref name=Smith/> According to Duray: ''2On March 12, 1997 (i.e. under Mečiar's government), the Undersecretary of Education sent a circular to the heads of the school districts making known the following regulations: In Hungarian schools the Slovak language should be taught exclusively by native speakers.<ref name=Duray/> The same exclusion criteria applies to non-Slovak schools in the teaching of geography and history.<ref name=Duray/> (The Undersecretary modified the language of this regulation later by changing the term "exclusively" for "mainly".)<ref name=Duray/> In communities where the Hungarian community exceeds 40% of the total population the teachers of Slovak schools receive supplementary pay.<ref name=Duray/> In all communities which include a Hungarians population and where there is no school or there is no Slovak school, wherever possible a Slovak school should be opened, but not a Hungarian one."''<ref name=Duray/><ref group="note">The circular issued by Undersecretary Ondrej Nemcok cites governmental decrees of the Slovak Republic, numbers 459/95, 768/95 and 845/95.</ref> At the end of the 1998 school year a large number of Hungarian pupils handed back their school report that were issued only in Slovak.<ref name=Smith/>

====During the Dzurinda era====
In 2003, there were 295 Hungarian ]s and 75 ]s in Slovakia. In most of them Hungarian was used as the ], excluding 35 elementary schools and 18 secondary schools, which were bilingual.<ref name=Kamusella890>{{Harvnb|Kamusella|2009| p=890}}</ref>

====During the Fico era====
After the parliamentary elections in 2006, the nationalist ] of ] became member of the ruling coalition led by ]. In August a few incidents motivated by ] caused diplomatic tensions between the countries. Mainstream Hungarian and Slovak media blamed Slota's anti-Hungarian statements from the early summer for worsening ethnic relations. (Further informations: ], and ]).

On 27 September 2007 the ] were reconfirmed by the Slovak parliament which legitimized the ] and ] calumination and deportation from ] after ].<ref name="politics">{{cite web | publisher = mkp | url=http://www.mkp.sk/eng/images/pdf/MINORITY%20REPORT%20-%20OCTOBER.pdf |format=PDF| title = The Beneš-Decrees Are Untouchable| year = 2007 | accessdate = October 2008 }}</ref>

], the chairman of Slovak government Party ], according to whom the Hungarian population of Slovakia ''"is a ] in the body of the Slovak nation."''<ref>{{cite web|title=Separatist Movements Seek Inspiration in Kosovo|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,537008-2,00.html|work=]|date=2008-02-22|accessdate=2008-08-06}}</ref><ref name=Globalpost>{{Harvnb|Cienski|2009| p=}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|2009| p=}}</ref>]]

In 2008, the dioceses of the ] were reorganized. 8 dioceses were introduced in place of the previous 6. Until the reform the area of '']'' (Hungarian: ''Csallóköz''), the '']'' (''Mátyusföld'') and '']'' (''Ipolymente'') - where a big portion of the Hungarians of Slovakia resides - belonged to the ]. Now it belongs to four different dioceses. This triggered the protest of Hungarian catholic worshippers and priests.<ref> Nyílt levél a szlovák püspökkari konferenciához. ''(27th February 2008)''</ref> However, the reform was introduced by the ], not by the Slovak Republic.

Also in 2008, ] (]), minister of education propagated changes in the Hungarian schools of Slovakia. According to a new education law plan, the Hungarian language which was educated as mother tongue until now will be considered a foreign language - and therefore taught in less number of lessons. The only textbooks allowed to be used in Hungarian schools will be those translated from Slovak books and approved by Slovak administration.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bumm|2008| p=}}</ref><br>
In October 2008 Hungarian parents and teachers sent back Hungarian textbooks to the Minister of Education.<ref name=Sanoma>{{cite web|title=Visszaküldik a magyar neveket bojkottáló szlovák tankönyveket|language=Hungarian|url=http://www.fn.hu/kulfold/20081008/visszakuldik_magyar_neveket_bojkottalo/|work=]|publisher=]|date=2008-10-08|accessdate=2008-11-20}}</ref> The books contained geographical names only in Slovak violating the basic rules of the ] and the minorities' right of usage of their native language.<ref name=Sanoma/><br>
In November 2008 Prime Minister Robert Fico has again promised, this time at a cabinet meeting in Komárno (Révkomárom), southern Slovakia, that an ongoing problem with textbooks for ethnic Hungarian schools in Slovakia will be resolved.<ref name="Fico-The Slovak Spektator">{{cite web|title=SFico says Hungarian textbooks problem will be resolved|url=http://www.spectator.sk/articles/view/33631/10/fico_says_hungarian_textbooks_problem_will_be_resolved.html|date=2008-11-19|accessdate=2008-11-22}}</ref>. Though as of November 2008 ] still insists on the grammatically incorrect version (Slovak language names in Hungarian sentences) and having the correct Hungarian name only afterwards.<ref name=Slota-MN>{{cite web|title=Slota: Meghátráltunk, kétnyelvűek lesznek a településnevek|language=Hungarian|url=http://www.magyarnemzet.hu/portal/598834|date=2008-11-21|accessdate=2008-11-21}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Felvidék Ma|2008| p=}}</ref>
<ref>http://nol.hu/kulfold/slota_megforditana_fico_javaslatat, ], 2008-11-21 (in Hungarian)</ref>
<ref>http://www.delilap.hu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16721&Itemid=1, 2008-11-21 (in Hungarian)</ref>.

The Slovak authorities denied the registration of a Hungarian traditional folk art association, because they used the Hungarian word ''Kárpát-medence'' (]). According to Dušan Čaplovič the word and the association is against the sovereignty of Slovakia, furthermore the word is fascist, it is familiar with the German ], and Hungarians use it in this ideology.<ref>http://www.hirszerzo.hu/cikk.a_karpat-medence_a_lebensraum_magyar_megfeleloje_a_szlovak_miniszterelnok-helyettes_szerint.87635.html ], (in Hungarian)</ref>
<ref>http://ujszo.com/online/kozelet/2008/11/19/a-belugy-eltorolte-a-karpat-medencet ( in Hungarian)</ref>
<ref>http://atv.hu/hircentrum/2008_nov_caplovic__a__karpat_medence__ugyanaz__mint_a_naci__eletter__.html (In Hungarian)</ref>
<ref>http://www.mno.hu/portal/598288?searchtext=lebensraum (in Hungarian)</ref><ref>http://www.individual.com/story.php?story=92341355, (in ENGLISH) Nov 20, 2008 (BBC Monitoring via COMTEX)</ref>
On September 1, 2009 more than ten thousand Hungarians held demonstrations to protest against the ] that limits the use of minority languages in Slovakia.<ref></ref> The law calls for fines of up to £4,380 for anyone "misusing the Slovak language.<ref></ref>

=="Wise historism"==
Since deputy prime minister ] declared the "wise historism" concept, the history books are getting rewritten in a faster pace than before, and in an increased "spirit of national pride",<ref name="cancel">, ], July 31, 1996</ref> {{Failed verification|date=December 2008}} <ref name="inventing" /> which Krekovič, Mannová and Krekovičováare claim are mainly nothing else, but history falsifications.<ref name="inventing" /> Such new inventions are the interpretation of ] as a (proto)-Slovak state, or the term "proto-Slovak" itself,<ref name="inventing">{{Harvnb|Krekovič|Mannová|Krekovičová|2005| pp=}}</ref> along with the "refreshing" of many "old traditions", that are in fact did not exist or were not Slovak before.<ref name="inventing" /> The concept received criticism in Slovakia pointing out that the term proto-Slovak cannot be found in any serious publication, simply because it lacks any scientific basis.<ref></ref> ] Slovak political scientist explained that by adopting such scientificly questionable rhetoric Fico aims to "strengthen national consciousness by falsification of history".<ref></ref><!-- Per ], please provide original language of quotes ] "A "régi szlovákok" kifejezéssel egyetlen komoly publikációban sem találkozunk, mert ez a megnevezés egyszerűen minden tudományos alapot nélkülöz - szögezte le." The term proto-Slovak(old-Slovak, ancient-Slovak) cannot be found in any serious publication because this terming lacks all scientific basis"-he pointed out. (note, "he" refers to Dusan Kovác Slovak historian/academic) ] A kormány ünnepi nyilatkozatában meghirdetett „okos historizmus” és a hazafiasság programjáról szólva Miroslav Kusy szlovák politológus az Új Szóban kijelentette: a régi nagymorva birodalombeli szlovákok felemlegetésével Robert Fico kormányfő olyan – szakmailag megkérdőjelezhető – retorikát vesz át, amely azt jelzi, hogy „a történelem hamis ábrázolásával erősíti a nemzettudatot”. "Speaking about the "wise (clever?) historism" and patriotism program proclaimed by the government on the occasion (note: 15th year anniversary of 1993) Miroslav Kusy Slovak political scientist said in an interview to ] that by talking about Slovaks in Great Moravia Robert Fico prime minister adopted such -scientificly questionable- rhetoric that points to the fact that he wants to "strengthen national consciousness by falsification(lit. "false" "painting") of history" -->


==Rusyns== ==Rusyns==
The ethnic relationship of ] is complex and volatile. A long-term cultural and everyday cohabition of ], Eastern ] and ], under the prepodence of the non-Rusyn element led to the linguistic Slovakization of Rusyns, while in some parts (in cities and ethnic islands in the south) they were Magyarized. Still, in both cases they preserved their religion (]). Until the 1920s, the ] Greek-Catholics composed a transitional group that was connected with the Rusyns through religion and traditions, with Slovak as their language. Their number was gradually increasing with the transition of the parts of Rusyn population to the Slovak language. Slovakization of the Rusyn population increased in the times of the ]n authorities (since 1920). The Greek Catholics and Orthodox started to perceive themselves as Slovaks. It is difficult to estimate the distribution of the ] and the ]s by the language as well as to determine the number of Rusyns because both the Hungarian and Czechoslovakian censuses provided the incorrect number of Rusyns, but it contains roughly 50-100 000 people. According to censuses The decrease of the number of Rusyns was influenced not only by Slovakization but also by emigration of a significant number of Rusyns from Prešov, mainly to the Czech lands. The ethnic relationship of ] is complex and volatile. A long-term cultural and everyday cohabition of ], Eastern ] and ], under the prepodence of the non-Rusyn element led to the linguistic Slovakization of Rusyns, while in some parts (in cities and ethnic islands in the south) they were Magyarized. Still, in both cases they preserved their religion (]). Until the 1920s, the ] Greek-Catholics composed a transitional group that was connected with the Rusyns through religion and traditions, with Slovak as their language. Their number was gradually increasing with the transition of the parts of Rusyn population to the Slovak language. Slovakization of the Rusyn population increased in the times of the ]n authorities (since 1920). The Greek Catholics and Orthodox started to perceive themselves as Slovaks. It is difficult to estimate the distribution of the ] and the ]s by the language as well as to determine the number of Rusyns because both the Hungarian and Czechoslovakian censuses provided the incorrect number of Rusyns, but it contains roughly 50-100 000 people. According to censuses The decrease of the number of Rusyns was influenced not only by Slovakization but also by emigration of a significant number of Rusyns from Prešov, mainly to the Czech lands.{{verify source|date=May 2010}}


The Slovakian pressure on Rusyns in Slovakia increased after 1919 when Czechoslovakia incorporated ] to the west of the ]. The Slovakization of Rusyns (and Ukrainians) was a part of the program of the ], whose leader refused to cooperate with the Rusyn politicians of Transcarpathia but cooperated with Hungarian-speaking A. Brody. Therefore, the Rusyn politicians opened the links with the ] political parties which were supportive of neutrality towards the Rusyn question. The cultural Slovak-Rusyn relations at the time were minimal. The Slovakian pressure on Rusyns in Slovakia increased after 1919 when Czechoslovakia incorporated ] to the west of the ]. The Slovakization of Rusyns (and Ukrainians) was a part of the program of the ], whose leader refused to cooperate with the Rusyn politicians of Transcarpathia but cooperated with Hungarian-speaking A. Brody. Therefore, the Rusyn politicians opened the links with the ] political parties which were supportive of neutrality towards the Rusyn question. The cultural Slovak-Rusyn relations at the time were minimal.

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Approximate area in south Slovakia inhabited by ethnic Hungarians. Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority of Slovakia, numbering 520,528 people or 9.7% of population (2001 census)

Slovakization (or Slovakisation; Template:Lang-hu Hungarian pronunciation: taːʃ; Ukrainian and Rusyn: Словакізація) is a term used to describe a cultural change in which ethnically non-Slovak people are made to become Slovak. In terms of historical context Slovakization can refer to the government policies in either Slovakia or the former Czechoslovakia in imposing a nation-state.

The term is used for example in relation to Hungarians, Ukrainians, Rusyns (Ruthenians), Poles, Germans and Jews.

Hungarians

After WWI

Further information: Hungarians in Slovakia
Map showing the border changes after the Treaty of Trianon. As a result, Hungary lost over two-thirds of its territory, about two-thirds of its inhabitants under the treaty and 3.3 million out of 10 million ethnic Hungarians. (Based on the 1910 census.)

After the defeat of the remaining Hungarian armies in 1919 the Paris Peace Conference that concluded the Treaty of Trianon in 1920 set the southern border of Czechoslovakia due to strategic and economic reasons much further south than the Slovak-Hungarian language border. Consequently, fully Hungarian-populated areas were annexed to the newly created state.

When Czechoslovakia arose as a new country in this situation, many Slovak schools were established, while some Hungarian schools in largely Hungarian regions remained Hungarian and some German schools in largely German regions remained German. The Hungarians, for example, had 31 kindergartens, 806 elementary schools, 46 secondary schools, 576 Hungarian libraries at schools in the 1930s and a Department of Hungarian literature was created at the Charles University of Prague. The number of Hungarian elementary schools increased from 720 in 1923/1924 to the above number 806. The Hungarian University in Bratislava/Pozsony was immediately closed after the Czechoslovak occupation of the town.

According to the 1910 census conducted by the Central Statistical Office of Hungary, there were 884,309 ethnic Hungarians, constituting 30.2% of the population, in what is now Slovakia compared to the 9.7% number recorded in the 2001 census, amounting to a 3 fold decrease in the percentage of Hungarians. The first Slovak census in 1919 in what is now Slovakia recorded 689,565 Hungarians constituting 23.59% of the population. According to the first Czechoslovak census in 1921 there were 650,597 Hungarians in Slovakia, constituting 21.68% of the population. The Czechoslovak census of 1930 recorded 571,952 Hungarians. All censuses from the period are disputed, and some give conflicting data for example in Kosice according to the Czechoslovak censuses 15-20% of the population was Hungarian. However during the parliamentary elections the Ethnic Hungarian parties got 35-45% of the total votes (excluding those Hungarians who voted for the Communists or the Social democrats). The whole matter is complicated by the fact that there was a high percentage of bilingual and similarly "Slovak-Hungarian" persons who could claim being both Slovak and Hungarian.

Slovak sources usually do not deny that many Hungarian teachers and civil clerks were forced to leave or left for Hungary voluntarily, the numbers however are unclear but census do show a rapid decline in the number of Hungarians. Some teachers and civil servants were expelled from Czechoslovakia while some left due to the harsh circumstances. There are many examples of Hungarians who were forced to leave their homes from this territory (two famous ones are the families of Béla Hamvas, and of Albert Szent-Györgyi). The high number of refugees (and even more from Romania) necessitated entire new housing projects in Budapest (Mária-Valéria telep, Pongrácz-telep), which gave shelter to refugees numbering at least in the ten-thousands.

"re-Slovakization"

"...in Slovakia, the party is breaking into factions. One of the factions is headed by the Representative of the Soviet of Plenipotentiaries, G. Husák. This faction includes Clementis, Novomecký and in general the Slovak intelligentsia and students. It displays a sharply nacionalistic, anti-Semitic, anti-Hungarian character. ... Anti-Semitism generally is widespread in the party"

— A letter from Mátyás Rákosi to Joseph Stalin, dated 25, September 1948.

In 1946, another method -the process of "Reslovakization", (or re-Slovakization) the forced acceptance of Slovak nationality- was engaged by the Czechoslovak government with the objective of eliminating the Hungarian nationality. The Slovakian Commissioner of the Interior on June 17, 1946 (decree No.20,000/1946) initiated the "Reslovakization" program. As Anton Granatier, officer of the Resettlement Bureau said: „We want to be the national state of Slovaks and Czechs, and we will be. This monumental programme includes re−slovakization, already under way in whole Slovakia! Within the scope of this action everyone who feels to be Slovak by origin will have the chance to declare it freely whether they want to become Slovaks with all its consequences or want to share the fate of those without citizenship.“ In the spring and summer of 1945, a series of decrees stripped Hungarians of property, from all civil rights and from their citizenship. Hungary itself gave the Slovaks equal rights and demanded the same solution to the issue from Czechoslovakia. Since Hungarians in Slovakia were deprived of many rights, and were the target of discrimination, they were pressured into having their nationality officially changed to Slovak, otherwise they dropped out of the pension, social, and healthcare system. 400,000 (sources differ) stateless Hungarians applied for, and eventually 344,609 Hungarians received a re-Slovakization certificate by the Central Committee for Reslovakization, and thereby Czechoslovak citizenship. Therefore the number of Hungarians in Slovakia dropped to 350000. According to Russian archives, 20000 Hungarians declared themselves as Slovak at the beginning of the year 1949, and eventually 360000 Hungarians changed their nationality to Slovak, according to Slovak historians. The fear was so big among the Hungarian population, that only 350000 claimed himselfs Hungarian in the 1950 census, and only after ten years -when the reslovakization program was revoked- began to rose and reached 518000.

The main problem with the reslovakization procedure was, that the "reslovakized" Hungarians did not take the forcible change of nationality seriously, because it is impossible to force someone to forget his culture and language suddenly. A Slovak journalist wrote the following about the "reslovaklized" city of Nové Zámky (Template:Lang-hu): "80% of the Hungarian population of Nové Zamky re-Slovakized . . . On the other hand, the fact remains that one can barely hear Slovak spoken in Nové Zamky. You will never find these 80% Slovaks. Only a few government employees speak Slovak here and there. What happened to the re-Slovakized persons?"

After October, 1948

With the disappearance of Eduard Benes from the political scene, the Czechoslovak government issued decree No. 76/1948 on April 13, 1948, allowing those Hungarians still living in Czechoslovakia, to reinstate Czechoslovak citizenship. A year later, Hungarians were allowed to send their children to Hungarian schools, which had been reopened for the first time since 1945, although Hungarians remaining in Slovakia were subjected to extremely heavy pressure to assimilate, and complaints reached the Soviets about forced enrollment of Hungarian children in Slovak schools.

Most re-Slovakized Hungarians gradually readopted their Hungarian nationality. As a result, the re-Slovakization commission ceased operations in December 1948.

Despite their promises to settle the issue of the Hungarians in Slovakia, in 1948 Czech and Slovak ruling circles still maintained the hope that they could deport the Hungarians from Slovakia. According to a 1948 poll conducted among the Slovak population 55% were for resettlement (deportation) of the Hungarians, 24% said "don't know", 21% were against. Under slogans for the struggle with class enemies, the process of dispersing dense Hungarian settlements continued in 1948 and 1949. By October 1949 preparations were made to deport 600 Hungarian families.

Finally, at 25. July 1949, Czechoslovak and Hungarian delegation signed the Štrb protocol which ended the law disputes between Hungarian and Czechoslovak property and legal question and compensation of deported Hungarians.

Rusyns

The ethnic relationship of Prešov Region is complex and volatile. A long-term cultural and everyday cohabition of Rusyns, Eastern Slovaks and Hungarians, under the prepodence of the non-Rusyn element led to the linguistic Slovakization of Rusyns, while in some parts (in cities and ethnic islands in the south) they were Magyarized. Still, in both cases they preserved their religion (Greek Catholicism). Until the 1920s, the Slovak-speaking Greek-Catholics composed a transitional group that was connected with the Rusyns through religion and traditions, with Slovak as their language. Their number was gradually increasing with the transition of the parts of Rusyn population to the Slovak language. Slovakization of the Rusyn population increased in the times of the Czechoslovakian authorities (since 1920). The Greek Catholics and Orthodox started to perceive themselves as Slovaks. It is difficult to estimate the distribution of the Orthodox and the Greek Catholics by the language as well as to determine the number of Rusyns because both the Hungarian and Czechoslovakian censuses provided the incorrect number of Rusyns, but it contains roughly 50-100 000 people. According to censuses The decrease of the number of Rusyns was influenced not only by Slovakization but also by emigration of a significant number of Rusyns from Prešov, mainly to the Czech lands.

The Slovakian pressure on Rusyns in Slovakia increased after 1919 when Czechoslovakia incorporated Transcarpathia to the west of the Uzh River. The Slovakization of Rusyns (and Ukrainians) was a part of the program of the Slovak People's Party, whose leader refused to cooperate with the Rusyn politicians of Transcarpathia but cooperated with Hungarian-speaking A. Brody. Therefore, the Rusyn politicians opened the links with the Czech political parties which were supportive of neutrality towards the Rusyn question. The cultural Slovak-Rusyn relations at the time were minimal.

(from the Entsyklopediia Ukrainoznavstva)

See also

Notes

References

  1. ^ J. Rieber 2000
  2. Magocsi & Pop 2002, p. 75
  3. Yeshayahu A. 1983, p. 185
  4. Yehudah & Karády 1989, p. 216
  5. Macartney, C.A. (1937). Hungary and her successors - The Treaty of Trianon and Its Consequences 1919-1937. Oxford University Press. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. "East on the Danube: Hungary's Tragic Century". The New York Times. 2003-08-09. Retrieved 2008-03-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. Macartney 2001, p. 3
  8. 1
  9. Marko & Martinický 1995
  10. Engemann 2008, p. 2
  11. C.M. Breuning, Dr. Lewis & Pritchard 2005, p. 146
  12. Kocsis & Kocsisné Hodosi 1998, p. 56
  13. Tisliar
  14. Kovács 2004
  15. HamvasBéla.org
  16. Magyarország a XX. században / Szociálpolitika
  17. ^ J. Rieber 2000, p. 91
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference Migration was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. Ther & Siljak 2001, p. 15
  20. Cite error: The named reference Mandelbaum, p.40 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. Szegő 2007
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kamusella775 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ J. Rieber 2000, p. 92
  24. Mandelbaum 2000, p. 43
  25. Nás Národ, September 7, 1947. (Article by J. Miklo.)
  26. ^ J. Rieber 2000, p. 93
  27. Vladimír Draxler - Štrbský protokol

Sources

Further reading

  • Van Duin, Pieter; Polá, Zuzana (2000). DEMOCRATIC RENEWAL AND THE HUNGARIAN MINORITY QUESTION IN SLOVAKIA. European Societies. Vol. 2, Issue 3. pp. 335–360. doi:10.1080/146166900750036303. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Fisher, Sharon (2006). Political Change in Post-Communist Slovakia and Croatia: From Nationalist to Europeanist. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781403972866. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

Cultural assimilation
Assimilation by religions
Assimilation by writings
Opposite trends
Related concepts
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