Slovenská otázka v 1. ČSR z pohľadu komunistov Vladimíra Clementisa a Ladislava Novomeského
The slovak issue from the perspective of comunists Vladimír Clemen¬tis and Ladislav Novomeský during the 1. Czechoslovak republic

Summary/Abstract: Vladimír Clementis intended to deal with the Slovak issue only after instituting the dictatorship of the working class. In the 1930s he was in favour of the Slovak self-determi¬nation, but his understanding of nation was affected by his Marxist perspective. He decla¬red his support for the symmetric Czech - Slovak relationship, the template for which he found in the constitution of the USSR. In practise he proposed extending decentralisation of government and in social and cultural affairs. He thought that the Slovak issue can be dealt with successfully only if the right for self-determination of the Slovak nation was acknowledged. However, he never turned his repeatedly proclaimed support for the sym¬metric Czech-Slovak relation into concrete constitutional propositions. Ladislav Novomeský considered the Slovak issue as a national-emancipation strug¬gle of the Slovaks for their national rights in the first Czechoslovak republic. He equally thought that acknowledging the self-determination of the Slovak nation and putting into practice the principle of equality are necessary for any resolution of this issue. He refuted any attempts for the application of the concept of Czechoslovak national identity in Slovak science and culture. He opposed the government initiative for the creation of a Czechoslo¬vak language in the guise of the Slovak grammar book (1931). He believed that the Czech-Slovak relation can become normal only if the efforts for the creation of a Czechoslovak ethnic nation ceased and if the social equality between the Slovak and the Czech nations was ensured.

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