Second Czechoslovak Republic
The Second Czechoslovak Republic (Czech: Česko - Slovenská Republika Druha ) denotes the Czechoslovak state that existed for 170 days between 1 October 1938 and March 16, 1939. The Republic was formed from Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and the autonomous regions of Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia.
The Second Republic was the sequence of events after the Munich Agreement and the Sudeten crisis as well as the First Vienna Award in which Czechoslovakia was forced to the German populated areas, so the Sudetenland and the southern part of Slovakia on 1 October 1938 at Germany and Hungary cede. The Czechoslovak Republic was dissolved on March 16, 1939 after the invasion of the Wehrmacht, Germany annexed the Czech region as the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
History
The Second Czechoslovak Republic had lost in the Munich agreement on 14 % of its land area, and was now in a very weakened state. The agreement Bohemia and Moravia had lost about 38 % of its area to Germany, went there around 3.2 million German and 750,000 Czech inhabitants lost. Without the natural limits, and its costly system of border fortification, the new state was militarily indefensible. Hungary received 11,882 km ² in southern Slovakia, according to a census of 1941, approximately 86.5 % of the population in this area Hungarian. Poland, the city acquired Teschen with their surroundings (about 906 km ², 250,000 inhabitants, mostly Polish, colonized ) and two minor border areas in northern Slovakia, regions Zips and Orava. (226 km ², population 4280, only 0.3% of Poland). In addition, the Czechoslovak government was overwhelmed and had trouble with the support of the 115,000 Czech and 30,000 German refugees who fled to the remaining territory of Czechoslovakia.
Policy
The political system of the country was in a crisis. Following the resignation of Edvard Beneš on October 5, Emil Hácha was elected the new president on 30 November 1938. Hácha appointed on December 1, 1938 Rudolf Beran, the leader of the Peasant Party, as prime minister of the country. He was more right-wing and skeptical of the new democracy. The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia was dissolved by him and for fear of the aggressive neighbors and forbidden, even though its members were allowed to remain in parliament. A poll demanded by the German Reich censorship of press and media freedom was rejected, in addition, the government could still not govern without Parliament.
Population
The Second Czechoslovak Republic lost nearly a third of its population (about 5 million inhabitants) the remaining 10.4 million inhabitants consisted of the following ethnic groups:
- 7 million Czechs
- 2.3 million Slovaks
- 510 000 Ukrainians
- 340,000 Germans
- 130,000 Jews
- 100 000 Hungary
- 14,000 Romanians
- 4000 Poland
Armed Forces of the Second Republic
The Czechoslovak army left the Sudetenland and began the construction of new state borders, despite the bad situation of the Republic, it was upgraded to 1.5 million men.
Ethnic tensions
The greatly weakened Czechoslovak Republic had to make their country's population large concessions. After the Munich Agreement, the Czechoslovak army transferred parts of their units that were originally in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, which meant to thwart the obvious attempts of Hungary to take on Slovakia.
The Czechoslovak government accepted the agreement sought by the Slovak government autonomy the state with all other parties, only the Slovak Social Democrats wanted a firm attachment to their partners the Czech Republic. Jozef Tiso was nominated as a head of the new autonomous state. The single common ministries that had remained were those of National Defence, Foreign Affairs and Finance. As part of the deal, the country's name was officially renamed from Czechoslovakia in Czecho- Slovakia. Likewise, the two major groups of the Carpathian Ukraine, the Russophile and ukrainophiles, agreed on the establishment of an autonomous government, which was established on 8 October 1938. According to the spread of modern Ukrainian national consciousness, the pro- Ukrainian faction, led by Avhustyn Voloshyn, took control of the local government and changed the name Carpathian Ukraine in the Republic of Carpatho -Ukraine.
On October 17, Adolf Hitler received Ďurčanský Ferdinand, Franz Alexander Karmazin and Mach. On January 1, 1939, the first Slovak National Assembly was inaugurated. On January 18, the first elections were held the Slovak Assembly, where the Slovak People's Party received 98 % of votes. On 12 February, Vojtech Tuka and Karmazin met with Hitler, and on 22 February suggested Tiso during his presentation of the Slovak government, the formation of a new independent Slovak state before. On February 27, the Slovak government was entrusted with the Slowakisierung the Czechoslovak units in Slovakia and opened an autonomous Slovak Embassy in Berlin.
The disputes continue to this on 1 March 1939 the Committee of Ministers of the Czechoslovak government raised the question of an independent Slovak state, while there were some differences of opinion between Tiso and other Slovak politicians, the National Assembly had once again taken place in Bratislava, the matter it to discuss with Tiso, caused nearly a split parliament. On 6 March, the Slovak government announced their loyalty to the second Czecho- Slovak Republic and their desire to remain a part of the state.
But at a meeting with Hermann Goering on March 7 Ďurčanský and Tuka were forced to proclaim their autonomy from the Czechoslovak state. After returning two days later, the Hlinka Guard was mobilized, which in turn Hácha forced to strongly react and say the martial law in Slovakia.
Liquidation of the Second Republic
In January 1939, negotiations between Germany and Poland were broken. Hitler proclaimed a German invasion of Czechoslovakia for the morning of March 14. In the meantime, negotiated the Slovak People's Party with the Kingdom of Hungary and its representatives for the Hungarian minority in Slovakia, to prepare the dismemberment of the Second Czechoslovak Republic before the invasion. On March 13, he invited Jozef Tiso to Berlin, where he Tiso offered the opportunity to make the Slovak state independent and demanded secession from Czechoslovakia. In such a case, Germany, Slovakia would protect, so Hungary could ask to Slovakia no additional territorial demands more. Slovakia would refuse, Germany would thus occupy the entire Czechoslovakia. Tiso refused to take such a decision itself, after he had received from Hitler for permission to organize a meeting of the Slovak Parliament, the new Slovak parliament of Czechoslovakia declared the independence of the Slovak State.
Meanwhile, the Czechoslovak President Emil Hácha had traveled to a meeting with Hitler and Goering to Berlin, where he was threatened with air strikes on Prague. After several strokes, he signed the capitulation of the Czechoslovak army.
On the morning of March 14, 1939, the Wehrmacht entered the borders of Czechoslovakia and came across only small resistance of about 1200 soldiers. The Hungarian invasion of Carpatho- Ukraine came rather to greater resistance, but was quickly put down by the Hungarian army. On March 16, Hitler proclaimed the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
Thus, the independent Czechoslovakia collapsed in the wake of foreign aggression, ethnic divisions and the internal stresses. Although the Czechoslovak army surrendered, did not the government; it continued to exist in exile.