138–150 Czáboczky

Keywords: Voter Mobilization, Zipser Deutsche Partei, Karpathendeutsche Partei, First Czechoslovak Republic, German societies in Slovakia

1 Such an example is Edmund Steinacker (1839–1929), who made an attempt to politically organize the German-speakers of Hungary into one German political movement. For this, he gained support from several Germany-based nationalist organisations.
2 This is why some of the middle class or wealthier families from the homogenous, Hungarian-speaking territories considered sending their children to study at educational institutions found in peripherical, linguistically diverse counties. Kinderaustausch was quite common in the region of Spiš (Szepes, Zips), where German was the first language used in public communication, not to mention their prestigious schools in Kežmarok (Késmárk, Kesmark), Podolínec (Podolin, Pudlein), Levoča (Lőcse, Leutschau) and Spišská Nová Ves (Igló, Zipser Neudorf) offered high quality education. Horel, Catherine: Multicultural Cities of the Habsburg Empire. Imagined Communities and Conflictual Encounters. Budapest–Vienna–New York 2023. p. 166.
3 For the sake of simplicity, the German-speakers hailing from the western part of Czechoslovakia will be related to as „Sudeten Germans” (Sudetendeutsch). The author is aware of, that the phrase was first used by a journalist in 1902 and became a generalizing term during the change of power in 1918–1919. It was mostly applied by the German politicians active in the western borderlands of Czechoslovakia, though the social structure and regional diversity made it quite difficult to implement this as a unifying category, at least until 1935. More on regional thought, urban life and nationalism in Bohemia: King, Jeremy: Budweisers into Czechs and Germans. A Local History of Bohemian Politics, 1848–1948. Princeton 2002.
4 Kováč, Dušan: Nemecko a nemecká menšina na Slovensku (1871–1945). Bratislava 1989, pp. 71–72.
5 The word „Hauerland” was introduced by the German-language press of Czechoslovakia, which was formed from the „-hau” suffix. Some of the German names of these municipalities bare this suffix, which probably relates to the action of woodcutting. Schvarc, Michal: Politická agitácia a činnosť Karpatonemeckej strany v oblasti Hauerlandu na Slovensku v rokoch 1935–1938. Historický časopis 52, 2004, 1, pp. 87–88.
6 Szelényi A., Balázs: From Minority to Übermensch: The Social Roots of Ethnic Conflict in the German Diaspora of Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. Past & Present 196, August 2007, p. 226.
7 More on the refugees in Hungary hailing from Spiš and their organisations: Ablonczy Balázs: „Lesz még kikelet a Szepesség felett” Kormányzati befolyás és menekülthálózatok társadalma a két világháború közötti Magyarországon. In: Ablonczy Balázs: Nyombiztosítás. Letűnt magyarok. Kisebbség- és művelődéstörténeti tanulmányok. Pozsony 2011, pp. 122–158.
8 Czáboczky, Szabolcs: Career Paths of Zipser Deutsche Partei Mayors in Interwar Spiš. In: Civil Servants Under Changing Regimes in Central and Eastern Europe in the First Half of the 20th Century, ed. Szeghy-Gayer, Veronika. Košice 2024, pp. 59–60.
9 Késmarker Sozialdemokratische Partei. Karpathen-Post, November 28, 1918.
10 This led to such issues, like census takers automatically defining the individual as a „Czechoslovak”, if he/she couldn’t name a nationality. More on the topic: Zahra, Tara: The ‘Minority Problem’ and National Classification in the French and Czechoslovak Borderlands. Contemporary European History 17, 2008, 2, pp. 137–165.
11 The use of a minority language was allowed in administration and in court, if the percentage of the minority compared to the local or regional population reached 20 %. Szalay Zoltán: Kisebbségi nyelvi jogok Szlovákiában az 1918–1968 közötti időszakban. Fórum Társadalomtudományi Szemle 13, 2011, 3, pp. 81–89.
12 „Diese Partei muß alle politisch noch nicht organisierten Deutschen Zipsers vereinigen, ebenso auch die zerstreuten deutschen Sprachinseln in Sáros, Abaúj und Gömör, sowie in Turóc, Zólyom und Bars ohne Unterschied des Standes oder der Beschäftigung. Mit der Sozialdemokratischen Partei soll sie in allen völkischen Fragen gemeinsam vorgehen. Die Zipser Deutsche Partei soll nach dem bewährten Muster der Sozialdemokratischen Partei organisiert werden” Aufruf zur Organisation einer Zipser Deutsche Partei. Karpathen-Post, January 24, 1920. Translated by the author.
13 Konstituierung der Zipser Deutschen Partei. Karpathen-Post, March 27, 1920.
14 Czáboczky Szabolcs: A Deutscher Kulturverband és a Deutscher Turnverein korai tevékenysége a Szepességen (1922–1935), Regio 32, 2024, 1, pp. 5–6.
15 The OKP was founded not long after the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain, and in the early period the party was led by a Nitra/Nyitra-based lawyer, Jenő Lelley (1870–1949). During the first Czechoslovak Republic, the OKP’s leaders upheld close contacts with the Hungarian government, which also provided financial aid for the party, though their political program wasn’t founded on exclusive, ethnic-linguistic based Hungarian nationalism. Most of the influential members of the OKP came from the ranks of the Roman Catholic clergy, like Ágost Fischer-Colbrie (1863–1925), bishop of Košice, who is often mentioned as the person, who layed the ideological basis of the party. The OKP tried to win not only Hungarian voters, but also Roman Catholic Slovak- and German-speakers as well, which is why the party upheld separate sections for them. One of the main goals of this political party was the implementation of the territorial autonomy of “Slovensko” and resisting political-economic centralization coordinated from Prague. This particular goal served most of all Hungarian foreign policy and the Hungarian government saw the OKP as a suitable tool to weaken the processes of Czechoslovak legislation, which was meant to orchestrate a “right moment” for territorial revision. More on the topic: Angyal Béla: Érdekvédelem és önszerveződés. Fejezetek a csehszlovákiai magyar pártpolitika történetéből 1918–1938. Galánta – Dunaszerdahely 2002.
16 Original name: Republikánská strana zemědělského a malorolnického lidu.
17 More on the life of Szent-Ivány and his „national realpolitik”: Simon Attila – Tóth László: Kis lépések nagy politikusa. Szent-Ivány József, a politikus és művelődésszervező. Somorja 2016.
18 Štátny archív v Košiciach (henceforth ŠA KE), pobočka Spišská Nová Ves (henceforth pb. SN), Okresný úrad v Gelnici (henceforth OÚ GL), box 88, 18428/1928. admin.
19 Die Deutsche Wahlgemeinschaft. Tagesbote, October 6, 1929.
20 Letter of Aurélia Scholtz, March 30, 1935. In: Két távirat. Scholtz Aurélia emlékezete,
ed. Márton Zsolt. 2020. p. 13.
21 Bund der Landwirte im Kesmarker Bezirk. Karpathen-Post, January 31, 1920.
22 A „Nagy-Lomniczi Mezőgazdasági Egyesület.” Karpathen-Post, March 17, 1904. Kováč, D.: Nemecko a nemecká menšina, p. 33.
23 For example: At the beginning of March 1926, educational courses were held about agricultural insurance and also about the use of manure, new agricultural machines in Švedlár, Mníšek nad Hnilcom (Szepesremete, Einsiedel an der Göllnitz) and Vondrišel (Merény, Wagendrüssel, today: Nálepkovo). Landwirtschaftliche Vorträge. Karpathen-Post, March 13, 1926.
24 The Slovak smallholders were represented as well by Ján Šterbák from Malý Slavkov and Martin Longa from Kežmarok, who were elected as vice president and secretary. Bund der Landwirte im Kesmarker Bezirk. Karpathen-Post, January 31, 1920.
25 Einbekenntnisse zur Einkommentsfeuer. Karpathen-Post, January 12, 1924.
26 Der Zipser Deutsche Bauernbund. Karpathen-Post, June 30, 1923.
27 Sprechabende der Zipser Deutsche Partei. Karpathen-Post, March 31, 1923. Vortrag der „Zipser Deutsche Partei” in Bela. Karpathen-Post, April 14, 1923.
28 Štátny archív v Prešove (henceforth ŠA PO), špecializované pracovisko Spišský archív v Levoči (henceforth šp. SA LE), Štátne zastupiteľstvo v Levoči (henceforth ŠZ LE), box 310, Nst III 77/1929.
29 ŠA KE, pb. SN, OÚ GL, box 14, 992/1926. prez. 2020.
30 Ibidem, box 8, 631/1925. prez.
31 Zavatzky, Günter: Mníšek nad Hnilcom. Sabinov 2017. p. 80.
32 Results of the 1923 local elections in Mníšek nad Hnilcom: ZDP – 14 mandates, KSČ – 8 mandates. Wahlergebnisse. Karpathen-Post, 1923. szeptember 22.
33 ŠA KE, pb. SN, OÚ GL, box 12, 214/1926. prez.
34 Gemeindewahlen in Einsiedel. Karpathen-Post, October 8, 1927.
35 Results of the 1923 local elections in Mníšek nad Hnilcom: KSČ – 316 (8 mandates), ZDP – 270 (7 mandates), DSDAP – 214 (6 mandates), OKP – 121 (3 mandates). Die deutsche Einheit in Einsiedel – wieder hergestellt. Karpathen-Post, October 29, 1927.
36 Karl Bruckner/Bruckner Károly (1863–1945), teacher, school principal. Born originally in Oberschützen/Felsőlövő (Burgenland) in a Lutheran, German-speaking family. After finishing his university studies in Budapest, he settled down in Kežmarok in 1889, where he became a professor of the local Lutheran Lyceum. In 1902 he founded the Freies Lyzeum (Free Lyceum), which was meant to educate the German-speaking people living in the vicinity. Between the years of 1899–1906 and 1912–1929 he was elected as school principal of the Lutheran Lyceum. As a prominent, prestigious figure of the cultural life of Kežmarok, he was elected president of the ZDP on the founding assembly.
37 Artur Polnisch (1892–1965), journalist, bank manager. Born originally in Beli Manastir (Pélmonostor, present-day Croatia), later attended the Catholic High School in Levoča. After the consolidation of Czechoslovakia, he became the owner of the Szepesi Híradó, the Hungarian-language weekly newspaper, which was also the regional organ of the Hungarian opposition. During the 1930s, he was elected as bank manager of the Levoča-based Zipser Creditbank (Szepesi Hitelbank, Spišská úverná banka) and the head director of baths in Starý Smokovec (Ótátrafüred, Altschmecks). More on the life of Polnisch: Czáboczky, Sz.: Career Paths, pp. 62–66.
38 Miklós/Mikuláš Fedor (1874–1948), school principal, politician. He was the principal of the Slovak language elementary school of Levoča. He joined the OKP in the 1920s, became one of the leaders of the OKP’s Slovak section, who often criticized not only the Czechoslovak government, but also the political trajectory of the HSĽS. One of the head agitators of the OKP’s ideology of the
„indigenous peoples” of Slovakia, whose purpose is to resist Czechoslovak centralization.
39 Fedor Miklós: Fehér zászló a Zipserföld bástyáján. Szepesi Híradó, January 9, 1937.
40 Szeghy-Gayer Veronika: Felvidékből Szlovenszkó. Magyar értelmiségi útkeresések Eperjesen és Kassán a két világháború között. Pozsony 2016. pp. 80–81.
41 The DKV was the legal successor of the Deutscher Schulverein, which aimed to give financial aid to the German language schools in Austria-Hungary and preserve the German school network. In Czechoslovakia, the DKV was also a job mediator for Sudeten German teachers, who worked in schools belonging to the church, but were upkept by the DKV. Czáboczky, Sz.: A Deutscher Kulturverband, pp. 7–9.
42 Emmerich Varga (1883–1951), Lutheran pastor, mayor. Born originally in Letanovce (Létánfalva, Lethensdorf) and later attended high school in the nearby town of Spišská Nová Ves. Afterwards he started to study Lutheran theology in Prešov (Eperjes, Preschau) and spent almost a year at the University of Leipzig. After serving as a young pastor in Zagreb and Szepetnek, he became the pastor of Poprad in 1910, where he served until 1942. He was the vice president of the ZDP, one of Andor Nitsch’s top confidentials, who also became a senator in the parliament of Prague between 1934–1935 due to the death of János Richter (1872–1934), former senator of the MNP. More on the life of Varga: Czáboczky, Sz.: Career Paths, pp. 67–71.
43 Szövetkezett pártjainknak komoly gyűlése Lőcsén. Szepesi Híradó, October 26, 1929.
44 For example Zoltán Kunsch, an agile member of the KDP, impulsively rejected, that he or his party members be labelled as „Hergelaufener”. ŠA PO, šp. SA LE, ŠZ LE, box 216, 851/1938. 1508/1938; Ibidem, box 218, 1297/1938. Zpráva.
45 ŠA KE, pb. SN, OÚ GL, box 93, 16322/29. admin. 70/1929. Zpráva
46 Manouschek left Slovakia supposedly at the turnpoint of 1929–1930 due to economic reasons and settled down in Switzerland. Kamerad Manouschek. Deutsche Stimmen, January 3, 1942.
47 Slovenský národný archív, Policajné riaditeľstvo v Bratislave, box 252, Mat/193/1.
48 Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár Országos Levéltára (henceforth MNL OL), Politikai osztály általános iratai (henceforth K 63), box 71, item 7/4, 34/pol./1935; Schvarc, Michal – Holák, Martin: Úvod do problematiky. In: Tretia ríša a vznik Slovenského štátu, Dokumenty I, eds. Schvarc, Michal – Holák, Martin – David, Schriffl. Bratislava 2008. XXXIV.
49 Der Karpathengau des Deutschen Kulturverbandes. Karpathen-Post, November 7, 1925.
50 Activists of the KDP founded new branches of the credit union called „Raiffeisenkasse” in several municipalities of Spiš, which were linked to the Mährische Genossenschaftzentrale (Moravian Union Centre) in Brno (Brünn). A Deutscher Bauernbund és a szepességi hitelszövetkezetek tiltakoznak az idegeneknek a szepességi gazdasági életbe való beavatkozása ellen. Szepesi Híradó – Szepesi Hírlap, February 22, 1930.
51 Leopold Brixel, a P. E. teacher employed in Levoča and Kežmarok, who hailed from Janov u Krnova (Johannestal), said the following at the previously mentioned party rally held in Smolnícka Huta: „Nitsch and his party assume, that the Zipser Deutsche Partei was destroyed by us. They are referring to the unity and equality of Spiš. It’s a strong bastion. And what do we see? There are Lutherans there, who are plotting against the Catholics, but we Catholics are no dogs!” ŠA KE, pb. SN, OÚ GL, box 93, 16322/29. admin. 70/1929. Zpráva.
52 Franz Karmasin (1901–1970), who became the leader of the KDP after 1935, announced the following at a party rally held in Švedlár in 1938: „Our opponents boast of a beautiful past, but this is not nearly enough for us. We are not a museum where the past is meant to be preserved. We are on the threshold of the future, and that is the only thing what matters!” ŠA KE, pb. SN, OÚ GL, box 140, 6580/1938. admin. 2672/938.
53 According to the political concept of the KDP, the Germans of Slovakia „became conscious” after the dissolvement of Hungarian rule. The concept was interpreted among others at the gathering of the KDP in Bratislava in 1937 celebrating 10th anniversary of the party’s establishment. MNL OL, K 63, box 78, item 7/4, 113/pol./1937.
54 MNL OL, K 63, box 71, item 7/4, 206/pol./1935.
55 ŠA PO, šp. SA LE, ŠZ LE, box 215, St. 695/1938. 209/1938.
56 Ibidem, box 214, St. 437/1938. 488/38.
57 ŠA KE, pb. SN, OÚ GL, box 140, 7295/1938. admin. 1199/1938.
58 ŠA PO, pobočka Poprad, Okresný úrad v Kežmarku, box 30, 618 prez. 913/38.