The Slovak Question: A Transatlantic Perspective, 1914-1948

The so-called Slovak question asked what place Slovaks held—or should have held—in the former state of Czechoslovakia. From 1918, at the end of World War I, until the “Velvet Divorce” in 1993, the minority Slovaks often clashed with the majority Czechs over their role in the nation. This book by Michael Cude examines this debate from a transatlantic perspective. Explored through the relationships among Slovaks, Americans of Slovak heritage, and U.S. and Czechoslovak policymakers, it shows how Slovak national activism in America helped Slovaks establish a sense of independent identity and political assertion after World War I. This process played a role in undermining attempts to establish a united Czechoslovak identity that continued throughout Czechoslovakia’s history. The book was the recipient of the 2022 Slovak Studies Association’s Best Book Prize. Michael Cude is an Associate Professor of History at Schreiner University