Zrod kanibala Slovákov:Verejný a súkromý život Bélu Grünwalda vo Zvolenskej župe (1867–1874)

Abstract

Prvá etapa verejného pôsobenia Bélu Grünwalda, obdobie pôsobenia vo funk- cii hlavného notára (1867–1871) a prvé podžupanské obdobie (1871–1874), je za- streté rovnako ako jeho mladosť. Ak však chceme pochopiť slovensko-maďarské národné konflikty po roku 1874, ktorých hlavnou postavou sa stal, musíme odkryť aj túto etapu jeho života, keďže jeho stanoviská k národnostným otázkam sa kryš- talizovali práve v týchto rokoch.The first era of Béla Grünwald’s (Szentantal, Hungary, 1839 – Courbevoie, France, 1891) public career, his life stage as notary (1867–1871) and as subcounty governor (1871–1874) in Zvolen County are almost unknown. However, if we want to understand the Slovak– Hungarian national conflicts after 1874, of which he became the main character, we must also reveal this stage of his life, as his views on national struggle crystallized in those years. Based on a note from Zvolen County dated 4 July 1867, the Minister of Culture József Eötvös removed the “Pan-Slavic” teachers from the grammar schools in Banská Bystrica. Grünwald’s biography highlights the central role of the new notary in this matter. Never- theless, this conflict did not provoke Grünwald’s struggle with the “Pan-Slavs” but was part of the power conflicts between the “Hungarian” and “Slovakian”, Catholic and Lutheran elites of Zvolen County. At the end of 1865, it was even one of the most important “battle- fields” where the local Hungarian and Slovak networks represented by Antal Radvánszkyand Štefan Moyses met.In April 1873, the first issue of the periodical Svornosť, Grünwald’s personal project, was published in Banská Bystrica. Grünwald’s primary goal was to push Slovak enthusiast periodicals from the Slovak public sphere. Therefore, after 1873, Grünwald became the number one enemy of the Slovak national movement and at the same time its target.At the end of 1873, the leader of the Slovak national movement Viliam Pauliny-Tóth published a text mocking Grünwald in the political newspaper of the Slovak national move- ment Národné noviny. Though Grünwald was represented by a pseudonym, it was easily recognizable to anyone. The attack and scandal had very serious effects not only on Grün- wald’s dislike of the Slovaks but also of his entire life. Pauliny-Tóth exposed Grünwald’s private life and love affairs to the public, destroying Grünwald’s social prestige down to the ground. Grünwald gave a political response to the attack: not long after, he managed to get the Hungarian government to close the three Slovak grammar schools and the Matica slovenská.