Founded in 1918
after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Czechoslovakia
comprised three distinct areas: the Czech lands, Slovakia,
and Podkarpatská Rus province (Subcarpathian Ukraine). In the context of the
Holocaust, Czechoslovakia
has a diverse and regionally specific history, and each area is well
represented in the interviews of the Visual History
Archive.
Over 5,300 interviewees were born here: around 1,000 in the Czech lands; 1,900 in Slovakia, and
2,400 in Podkarpatská Rus. More than 10,600 witnesses discuss their
experiences in Czechoslovakia
before, during, and after the war. The Shoah Foundation Institute conducted 567 interviews in the Czech Republic,
664 in Slovakia, and around
90 in Subcarpathian Ukraine.
The collection includes 566 interviews in
the Czech language and 573 in Slovak.
The territorial ambitions of Nazi Germany had a decisive impact on
Czechoslovakia
on the eve of World War II. The country was partitioned into three distinct
parts as a result of German involvement, either directly or indirectly. In
October 1938, Nazi troops occupied the Sudetenland
(the annexation is described at length in 77 testimonies); in March of the
following year, Hitler proclaimed the German Protectorate of Bohemia and
Moravia (220 testimonies). Also that March, Slovakia declared independence,
becoming a puppet state of Nazi Germany. The separation was complete when in
November 1938 and March 1939, Hungary
annexed the whole of Podkarpatská Rus province and a strip of southern Slovakia
(described specifically in 668 testimonies).
Many fled. Some of those who reached the United Kingdom,
where the government-in-exile was established, went on to fight in Czechoslovak
units of the British Army; others who went east enlisted with the Czechoslovak
division set up in the Soviet Army in 1941. These units are discussed in 161
testimonies.
For testimonies about the Czech Lands and Sudetenland, see the entry for Czech Republic.
For testimonies about Slovakia, see the entry for Slovakia.
For testimonies about the Hungarian-annexed areas of southern Slovakia (Felvidék), see the entry for Slovakia and Hungary. For testimonies about the Hungarian-annexed areas of eastern Czechoslovakia (Podkarpatská Rus province, aka Subcarpathian Ukraine or Kárpátalja), see the entry for Ukraine and Hungary.
See also: Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine
Crispin Brooks
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