Spišskí Nemci v rokoch 1920 – 1937

Abstract

The study deals with various areas of life of Spiš Germans (Zipsers) during the period of the first Czechoslovak Republic, specifically between 1920 and 1937. The first part of the study discusses the political activities of Germans in Spiš. The greatest attention is paid to the Zipser German Party (Zipser deutsche Partei) and the Carpathian German Party (Karpatendeutsche Partei), because these parties were voted for by most Germans in Spiš. To a lesser extent, this part is devoted to other parties that the Germans from Spiš (Zipsers) voted for. Part of this section are tables showing which parties were voted for by the inhabitants of the Spiš municipalities with the largest proportion of German nationality. The next part of the article deals with religious life with an emphasis on conflicts between Slovaks and Germans regarding the language of religious services. The third part of the study is devoted to German education in Spiš. Attention is directed to preschools, elementary schools and secondary schools of Spiš Germans (Zipsers). There were also conflicts within the education system in connection with the teaching of language. The center of interest of the next part is the social life of Spiš Germans (Zipsers). This part of the study also discusses the tourist, sports and cultural activities of the Germans in Spiš. It points to diverse cultural activities from German theater performances, singing circles, through periodicals, printers to photo studios and museums. The final part of the paper analyzes the socioeconomic structure of the German population in Spiš based on the results of the population census in 1921. Within each part of the study, attention is paid, among other things, to the anti-state manifestations of the Spiš Germans (Zipsers) and the reactions of the Czechoslovak authorities to these manifestations.