Table of Contents

1. Slovakia, the Slovaks and their history Dušan Kováč; 2. The Duchy of Nitra Ján Steinhübel; 3. The beginnings of the nobility in Slovakia Ján Lukačka; 4. Medieval towns Vladimír Segeš; 5. Renaissance and humanist tendencies in Slovakia Eva Frimmová; 6. The period of religious disturbances in Slovakia Viliam Čičaj; 7. The Enlightenment and the beginnings of the modern Slovak nation Eva Kowalská; 8. Slovak Slavism and Pan-Slavism Ľudovít Haraksim; 9. The Slovak political programme: from Hungarian patriotism to the Czecho-Slovak state Dušan Kováč; 10. Slovakia in Czechoslovakia (1918–38) Natália Krajčovičová; 11. Slovakia from the Munich conference to the declaration of independence Valerián Bystrický; 12. The Slovak state, 1939–45 Ivan Kamenec; 13. The Slovak question and the resistance movement during the Second World War Jan Rychlík; 14. The Slovak National Uprising: the most dramatic moment in the nation's history Vilém Prečan; 15. The Slovak question, 1945–8 Michal Barnovský; 16. Czechoslovakism in Slovak history Elisabeth Bakke; 17. The Magyar minority in Slovakia before and after the Second World War Štefan Šutaj; 18. The establishment of totalitarianism in Slovakia after the February coup of 1948 and the culmination of mass persecution, 1948–53 Jan Pešek; 19. Slovakia and the attempt to reform socialism in Czechoslovakia, 1963–9 Stanislav Sikora; 20. Slovakia's position within the Czecho-Slovak federation, 1968–70 Jozef Žatkuliak; 21. Slovakia under communism, 1948–89: controversial developments in the economy, society and culture Miroslav Londák and Elena Londáková; 22. The fall of communism and the establishment of an independent Slovakia Michal Štefanský; 23. Afterword: Slovakia in history Mikuláš Teich.

Promotional Information

Unique exploration of the key moments and themes in Slovakia's history, from its ninth-century origins to its rebirth in 1993.

About the Author

MIKULÁŠ TEICH is Emeritus Fellow of Robinson College, Cambridge and Honorary Professor, Vienna University of Technology (Technische Universität Wien). His publications include work on the history of chemistry, biomedical sciences and biotechnology; social, economic and national aspects of scientific and technical developments; and Slavica. dUŠAN KOVÁČ is Vice-President of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and President of the Slovak National Committee of Historians. His previous publications include include Dějiny Slovenska (History of Slovakia, 1998). Martin D. Brown is Assistant Professor of International History at Richmond, the American International University in London. His previous publications include Dealing with Democrats: The British Foreign Office's Relations with the Czechoslovak Émigrés in Great Britain, 1939–1945 (2006).

Reviews

'Slovakia is a small country, only recently independent. But it is larger, and its history far longer and richer, than might be assumed. For centuries its inhabitants shared in the destinies of the Kingdom of Hungary; then for decades they formed an organic part of the modern state of Czechoslovakia. Here for the first time is a full and satisfactory treatment of that past in English. Authored mainly by Slovaks, it transcends the myopia and prejudice which have often disfigured the historiography of the subject and it incorporates many fresh research findings.' Robert Evans, Regius Professor of History, Oxford University

'This useful collection of essays presents the history of Slovakia and the Slovaks from the Middle Ages to the present and brings the results of research by Slovak historians of the post-Communist era to an international readership. It will be required reading for anyone interested in the history of East-Central Europe.' Richard Evans, Regius Professor of History, University of Cambridge

'The work is invaluable as the reference book on the topic, as it is full of well-researched detail.' Zuzana Slobodova, British Czech and Slovak Review