Štátne a národné hymny ako zdroje konfliktov na Slovensku počas prvej Československej republiky
State and National Anthems as a Source of Conflicts in Slovakia during the First Czechoslovak Republic

Summary/Abstract: During the First Czechoslovak Republic, the question of state and nationalanthems was a sensitive topic. Due to the lack of a legal codification ofthe Czechoslovak national anthem, the relationship between the Czechand Slovak parts of the anthem remained unclear. It was not knownwhether there was one anthem or two anthems, the order of which couldbe interchanged. At the same time, the authorities reacted very sensitivelyto any disrespect for the national anthem, which was considered an attackon the Czechoslovak state. During the First Czechoslovak Republic,singing and playing the Hungarian national anthem was severely punishedand offenders were often sentenced to imprisonment. Initially, they wereconvicted under Section 172 of the Hungarian Penal Code of 1878 and,after 1923, under the Law for the Protection of the Republic, for incitinghatred against the nationals of another ethnicity or for sedition against theState. This conflict of the nation-state with its national minority stemmedfrom the exaggerated fear of the Czechoslovak authorities of Hungarianirredentism. In reality, those who sang the Hungarian anthem (most oftenunder the influence of alcohol in pubs or during festive masses in churches)did not pose a real threat to the order of the state. In this matter, however,the Czechoslovak state adopted the intolerant practice of the Kingdom ofHungary.

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