Aspects of the Holocaust During the Slovak Autonomy Period (October 6, 1938, to March 14, 1939)

Abstract

Antisemitism was not a new phenomenon in Slovakia and can be traced back to the Middle Ages and beyond. Looking at the more recent past, after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise in 1867, Jews became equal citizens in the eyes of the state. The Hungarian Parliament passed an Act of Emancipation for Jews that same year, mainly for the purpose of economic development, which was beneficial for the Jewish population. A year later, Hungary's Nationality Act was issued as part of an active policy of magyarization (Hungarianization). However, it did not affect Jews, who were considered a religious group and not a national group. Jews thrived under these new conditions, but ethnic and national groups, such as the Slovaks who were subjected to the new legislation, possessed only limited linguistic and cultural rights.