The Period of Depression in Czechoslovakia
In 1920s the newborn Czechoslovakia, which inherited most of Austrian industrial infrastructure and facilities, had established its position as well developed agrarian -industrial country and one of the world’s richest nations.
Contrary to this, Czechoslovakia also inherited the hereditery weakness of the Hapsburg Empire. From the very beginning, it suffered from ethnic problems due to the fact that the second and third largest ethnic groups, Germans (3.1 million) and Slovaks (1.9 million), as well as Hungarians and Poles, felt disadvantaged politically and economically. These ethnics groups had separate histories and different religious, cultural, and social traditions, so that they felt oppressed by Czech dominance. Moreover, part of German and Hungarians population of Czechoslovakia didn’t accept the new state and openly agitated against the territorial settlements. However, highly centralized unitary state couldn’t suggest any political solution to the ethnic problem.
At the same time, Czech literature, architecture and culture in general enjoyed the great flourishing.
In 1923, the Czech Radio started broadcasting.
In 1925, 1926, and 1927 Maxim Brod published the Franz Kafka’s famous novels The Trial, The Castle, and America after Kafka’s death in 1924.
During 1918 – 1938, other famous Czech writer Karel Capek had published his works “The Tales from Two Pockets”, “Hordubal”, “Meteor”, “An Ordinary Life” and “Talks with T.G. Masaryk”.
In the 1920s the House at the Black Madonna, designed by Czech architector Josef Gocar in 1912, became the home to the Czech Museum of Cubism.
In 1929, Czechoslovakia (especially Sudeten border regions) suffered from a deep slowdown as a result of the world economic crisis’s destructive influences. About 1.3 million people had lost their job during early 1930s.
The Sudeten Germans, who had absorbed the deepest damages of unemployment, has began to show political identification with the Nazi movement and Hitler, who declared his willingness to initiate economical reforms. Consequently, they called for autonomy from Czechoslovakia.
In 1935, Tomas Garrigue Masaryk resigned from his president post due to illness. His Slovak counterpart and Foreign Minister, the National Socialist Edvard Benes, was chosen as a second president of Czechoslovakia. Despite his enormous contribution to establishing the independent Czechoslovakia, Benes was more of an intellectual than a leader.
In the same year, the Sudeten German Party got wide support from Sudeten Germans and reached 15.2%. The Party’s leader Konrad Henlein had strongly identified with Nazi Germany.
