ESTABLISHMENT AND ACTIVITIES OF THE REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE OF THE CZECHOSLOVAK RED CROSS IN SUBCARPATHIAN RUS IN THE 20TH OF THE XX CENTURY

Abstract

The article attempts to analyze the formation and activity of the representative office (Division) of the Czechoslovak Red Cross in Subcarpathian Rus during the period of its formation and structural strengthening - 1920-1929. On September 10, 1919, a large part of the territory of the present Transcarpathian region of Ukraine was annexed to the Czechoslovak Republic and was part of it until 1939 under the name of Subcarpathian Rus. During the period of the region's stay as part of the Czechoslovak state, radical changes took place in many spheres of social life, in particular in the sphere of health care. In the first years of the existence of the young Czechoslovak state, the situation in the social and medical spheres was quite difficult. The worst situation with the organization of medical institutions was observed in Slovakia and Subcarpathian Rus. On February 10, 1920, the Abstract of the Ministry of Social Care for Subcarpathian Rus was formed in Uzhhorod with the aim of solving priority social issues in the most remote region of the republic. However, state programs could not always cover all the needs of the population of the region, especially in mountainous areas. Therefore, almost immediately after the accession of Subcarpathian Rus to the Czechoslovak Republic, the Czechoslovak Red Cross began its activities on the territory of the region. This charitable public institution intervened in those areas that the government's social policy did not reach adequately or only to a limited extent. Initially, the organization's activities focused on attracting foreign missions whose task was to provide urgent humanitarian aid to the affected population. Already in 1920, a separate Division of the Czechoslovak Red Cross was formed for Subcarpathian Rus, with its centre in Mukachevo. Its first manager was a local Doctor of Medicine Bohuslav Albert. The structure of the Czechoslovak Red Cross in Subcarpathian Rus was modelled on other regions of the republic and was quite extensive by 1922. Functionally, the Division's institutions were divided into medical, social and organizational. The Division's office was located in Mukachevo, and local branches were created in other towns and villages in the region. A separate organizational unit of the Division was the representation of the youth wing of the Czechoslovak Red Cross, the so-called «Dorost» (Youth). Since 1922, its centres have been formed at primary and secondary educational institutions in the region. Among the medical institutions that operated within the structure of the Division, it is worth noting dispensaries, consultations (so-called «poradny») for mothers and children, boarding schools, orphanages and children's colonies. The analyzed material gives reasons to claim that the activities of the Czechoslovak Red Cross were not only aimed at providing essential one-time medical assistance to the population. Her social projects had different directions and terms of implementation. In particular, programs aimed at the younger generation of residents of Subcarpathian Rus often lasted for many years. The priorities of the Division's activity during the entire period under study were based on social and medical support of various social groups in the population, the organization of health care, and hygienic education. The presented material is based on documents of different funds of the State Archive of the Transcarpathian region, which have not been introduced into scientific circulation until now, as well as a number of published sources, primarily official reports of the Czechoslovak Red Cross.