The Censorship Praxis and the Press Law in the First Czechoslovak Republic and the German and Hungarian Minorities
The Censorship Praxis and the Press Law in the First Czechoslovak Republic and the German and Hungarian Minorities

Summary/Abstract: This study will examine the question of censorship and press law in the First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938) and their relationship with the German and Hungarian minorities. Through research of published and unpublished sources, the authors will demonstrate that the new state adopted its basic standards regarding press law and censorship from its predecessor – the Habsburg Monarchy. It will also demonstrate that the press law of Czechoslovakia in the 1920s and 1930s lacked some basic elements, in particular a specific press law which would deal with all aspects of this problem. Several acts enabling significant state interference in certain situations into the freedom of the press were adopted which, just as in the history of Austria-Hungary, enabled the Czechoslovak government to put censorship provisions into effect, and to intervene against the press of the Communist Party and that of certain national minorities. The study will also demonstrate that, as a result of the rise of Nazism, many of the laws relating to the press were revised in the 1930s. This was caused by the rise of aggressive policy and the need for a reaction on the part of Czechoslovakia.

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