„Slovenská karta“ v plzeňské politice po vzniku Československa. Komparace vývoje na západě a východě republiky v letech 1919–1920

Abstract

The establishment of Czechoslovakia in 1918 united several hitherto relatively heterogeneous territorial units: Bohemia, Moravia and a part of Silesia, on the one hand, with Slovakia and Transcarpathian Ukraine, on the other. Their populations’ awareness of what life was like on the other side of the Morava River was probably not particularly high, and, as a result, the territories were practically foreign countries. Did the west and east of Czechoslovakia at least share some common post-war development features? This paper attempts to compare some of the events in the first two years after the establishment of the common state, emphasising national and social issues as the basis for comparison. Did the west of Czechoslovakia, with its German population, residing mostly in its border areas, have anything in common with Slovakia with its national differentiation? And did the west and the east of the republic also face some common social issues, exacerbated by a five-year military conflict? Did they offer comparable solutions to shortages of basic foodstuffs and make comparable efforts to improve working conditions or make housing more affordable? Could developments taking place hundreds of miles away influence events on the other side of the country? The paper seeks to answer all of these and many more questions through archival and historical research.