the nationality of all inhabitants of the czech provinces and ...

Chapter III
introduction of the župa system. This is
because the organisation of public
administration, along with the issues of
the official language and national
schooling, were traditionally, i.e. during
the monarchy, crucial for the status of
nations.
When it was set up, Czechoslovakia
inherited from Austria-Hungary
systems of local government which
fundamentally differed – the Austrian
system in the Czech provinces and its
Hungarian counterpart in Slovakia and
Ruthenia. As early as 1919 there were
efforts to combine the systems and at
the same time to radically modernise
and democratise public administration.
Although the situation in the country
was extremely complicated in the initial
period and in deep economic crisis, the
new republic decided on a fairly radical
reform of local government. The reform
naturally had many aspects, but the
Czechs and Germans in a Democratic
Czechoslovakia, 1918-1938
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most visible and must publicly discussed
component was the introduction of a
territorial unit called the župa on the
Slovak model, hence it was known as
the “župa reform”. Local government is
the basis of a state and constitutes a
complex system which evolves over a
lengthy period, so attempts to transform
it encounter innumerable obstacles.
Apart from those substantive problems,
e.g. financial issues, the attempt at
Work on building the grammar school in Liberec started in 1917 and it was to be the
second German secondary school in the town. Eventually the Czech grammar school
was housed here too, although its pupils were obliged to use a side entrance and the
corridors were partitioned to prevent ethnic brawls.The barriers were removed
in 1925. During the occupation the building housed the
administrative offices of the Reichsgau Sudetenland.
reform was also complicated by political
disputes in which the nationalities issue
was a key factor.
The Germans were not yet reconciled
with the new situation and there were
repeated attempts at secession.
Nonetheless some of the planned župy
would have a German majority and
central government would have a
limited say in their administration. For
that reason the Czech nationalist Right,
headed by Karel Kramář’s National