Slovakia joins Czechoslovakia

Chronological overview

4 November 1918 - appointment of the so-called of the provisional Slovak government

November 14, 1918 - The Revolutionary National Assembly elected the president of Czechoslovakia

10/12/1918 - The Revolutionary National Assembly approved the Act on Extraordinary Transitional
Measures in Slovakia

4 February 1919 - The Ministry with full power for the administration of Slovakia headed by V. Šrobár
moved to Bratislava

Slovakia's place in Czechoslovakia and Czechoslovakia in the developed countries of the world

At the end of the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy collapsed and smaller successor
states arose on its ruins. At the same time, new problems emerged that neither the representatives of
the victorious Agreement nor the representatives of the newly created states could foresee. After the
victorious, euphoric days of October 1918 in Prague, Martin, and Geneva, came much more difficult
months and years, in which the Slovak and Czech political representatives assumed not only political
power in the new state, but also full responsibility for the future fate of its population. In 1919, on the
basis of post-war peace negotiations, Subcarpathian Rus also became part of Czechoslovakia. The
creation of the joint state of Slovaks and Czechs created the territorial unit of the Czechoslovak
Republic (Czech Republic), which primarily included two Slavic nations close in language and culture,
which went through different historical developments. However, there were also large, economically
and culturally advanced national minorities living in the Republic. The new borders between the
successor state caused many problems among residents of other nationalities. The problems of
national minorities were dealt with by international institutions that were established under the
auspices of the League of Nations. However, their specific life issues had to be solved primarily by the
governments of the successor states, and therefore also by Czechoslovakia. Despite the fact that the
government, parliament and other bodies paid attention to mutual relations between two peoples and
nationalities, they were included among serious domestic political issues and the solution was lengthy
and persisted throughout the twenty years of the interwar Czechoslovakia.

Soon after the end of the war, negotiations began in Paris on the conditions for the mutual coexistence
of European states, and the participants also dealt with the formation of the borders of the successor
states. The negotiations were finally concluded with peace treaties. The Czech-Slovak delegation was
led by Karel Kramář and Edvard Beneš, but it also included experts from the Slovak intelligentsia, for
example Catholic priest and later bishop Marián Bláha, Helena Devečková-Turcerová, Štefan Janšak,
Štefan Osuský and others. The main goal of the delegation was to defend the interests of the young
state in concluding peace treaties and in its integration into the entire post-war network of European
countries.

Creation of local national councils and national committees

After the end of the historic Martin assembly, most of its participants went to their homes to explain
the situation in the newly formed state to the population. Local national committees and councils were
established all over Slovakia. Several of them also created armed units - national guards. Their task
was to oversee order in the city or village, to prevent looting and other illegal actions. Local national
committees and councils existed for only two months, in January 1919 they were abolished.

Provisional government, the so-called Skalicka

On November 4, 1918, a group of politicians known as the "Skalicka government" traveled from Prague
to Slovakia on behalf of the Czechoslovak National Committee. She was accompanied by a detachment
of gendarmes (the contemporary name of the police), militiamen and a company of Slovak soldiers.
The task of these politicians (V. Šrobár, P. Blaho, A. Štefánek, I. Dérer, who were joined by Š. Janšák in
Brno) was to calm the situation in the country and, with the help of the armed forces, integrate Slovakia
into the new state administration. The provisional government led by Vavro Šrobár arrived in Skalice
on November 6, 1918, and at a ceremonial meeting, they informed the residents of the creation of
Czechoslovakia and their tasks. However, the members of the provisional government had to return
to Prague in a few days, where important national events were being prepared in which they had to
participate.

National Assembly, Government, President of Czechoslovakia

After the historic revolutionary days in October 1918, the Czechoslovak National Committee took over
political power in the republic. He became the executor of state sovereignty. Until November 14, 1918,
he performed a legislative and executive role, that is, he passed laws and simultaneously managed the
state. He established 14 central ministries, which are based in Prague. He negotiated the composition
of the national government and approved the Act on the Temporary Constitution of Czechoslovakia.
He transferred his powers to the Revolutionary National Assembly (RNZ) on 14 November 1918, which
approved the first Czechoslovak government headed by Prime Minister Karl Kramář. Two Slovaks were
also proposed to the government: Vávro Šrobr headed the Ministry of Public Health and Physical
Education and Milan Rastislav Štefánik, who was still abroad, was appointed Minister of War. Tomáš
garik Masaryk, who returned to his homeland on December 21, 1918, was approved for the post of
president of Czechoslovakia.

Ministry with full power for the administration of Slovakia

On December 10, 1918, the Revolutionary National Assembly adopted a law on extraordinary
measures in Slovakia, in the creation of which Slovak deputies also participated. Pursuant to this law,
the Ministry with full powers for the administration of Slovakia was established, headed by Vavro
Šrobár. The law also stipulated that all state and local government employees, judges, teachers and
church dignitaries who were involved in the activities of the newly established institutions after the
coup were obliged to take an oath of allegiance to Czechoslovakia.

Minister Šrobár with 14 clerks and their advisors arrived from Prague to Žilina on 12 December 1918,
because Bratislava was still occupied by the Hungarian army. For two months, Žilina became the
headquarters of the all-Slovak administrative body. The task of the ministry was to take over political
power on Slovak territory and ensure the transition of life to peaceful conditions. Šrobár was not
responsible for his activities to any institution in Slovakia, only to the Czecho-Slovak government. He
acquired such extensive powers that no minister of the Czecho-Slovak government had. He had
legislative and executive power on the territory of Slovakia. In one of the first regulations, he abolished
the Slovak National Council and local national councils and committees. The Ministry was creating a
new organization of administrative institutions in Slovakia, filling the positions of prefects and other
officials, building a judicial network, and isolating education. It also addressed issues related to the
inclusion of churches, which were among important ideological and political organizations, in the life
of the young state. On February 4, 1919, Šrobár moved with the 200-member ministry to Bratislava,
which became the political, economic and cultural center of Slovakia. The following took turns at the
head of the ministry, which lasted until 1927: Vavro Šrobár, Ivan Dérer, Martin Mičura and Jozef Kállay.

The government cabinet before the first tasks

The foundation of the Czech-Slovak political system was laid by the creation of Kramář's government
in Prague and the Ministry with full powers for the administration of Slovakia. In January 1919, the
National Assembly adopted the law on the electoral procedure for municipalities, on the basis of which
the electoral procedure for the parliament was also created. The law established universal, equal,
secret, direct and personal suffrage for both men and women. At that time, women did not even have
the right to vote in such a traditionally democratic country as France. Czechoslovakia, like most
European countries at the time, was created as a centralized state. Prague became the seat of the
president, ministries, the National Assembly and the state bank.