The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact - ELTE BTK Történelem Szakos Portál

Sterniczky, Aaron
An unfortunate faith.
The Hlinka’s Slovak People’s Party’s ideology
On March 14th 1939 a new state appeared on the map of Europe: The
Slovak Republic. That was just a day before the Wehrmacht occupied Prague
and the „Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia” came into being. This must
not be seen as a coincidence. On March 13th 1939 Adolf Hitler met Josef Tiso,
who was going to become president of the Slovak Republic and was leader of
the Hlinka`s Slovak people’s party. Adolf Hitler urged Josef Tito during this
meeting in Berlin to proclaim Slovak’s independency, otherwise, and this is
Hitler’s wording he would not „care for Slovak’s fate” anymore. Josef Tiso
refused to make this decision immediately and referred to a modus operandi,
which did not allow him to take this step on his own. A possible declaration of
independence would require the endorsement of the Slovak national assembly,
the Slovak Diet. A session was arranged for the next day, and finally the
deputies voted for independence. This undertaking can only be understood in
conjunction with Nazi Germany’s policy towards Czechoslovakia.
The surrounding political circumstances were muddled, and so was the
interior shape diputabel. The Slovak Republic lacked some necessary
characteristics of a true souvereign state. Its foreign, militray and economic
policy were kept under direct control of the Third Reich.
The Third Reich was not only the powerful neighbour of the new born state,
it was also very influential in the creation of the state itself. And this close
connection between Nazi-Germany and the Slovak Republic would proof a
reliable and a longstanding one. The Slovak Republic would turn out to be one
of the most uncompromising allies of Nazi Germany, even standing closely by
it during its decline. For example: The young state participated as only Axis
nation beside Nazi Germany in the Polish campaign and it also arrayed troops
for the campaign of destruction against the Soviet Union.
A dialectical, to some kind a contradictory understanding is demanded:
Slovak’s self-government was only possibile under the guidance and pressure
of Nazi Germany, under control and on behalf of a state which limited this selfgoverment
strongly and defined the new country through a legal setting („the
treaty of protection”) as its own satellite. The Slovak Republic became the
vassal of its creator. Independency at command.
The Slovak national movement
The president of the new state was Josef Tiso. Beside this duty he led the
Hlinka’s Slovak People’s Party (the HSPP). Josef Tiso was a priest, which
symbolizes the outstanding importance of the catholic faith not only for the
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