The Slav Nations

by Srdan Tucic

The Csechs are not by nature a commercial and industrial people. Their business capacity is born of necessity—it is a weapon, not a means of gain. It is kept going by an unwearied agitation on the part of the national leaders, and if the Csech national ideal should suffer shipwreck, then Csech finance, ambition, and industry will likewise perish.

Sundry Slavophil thinkers would exclude the Csechs from the group of Slav peoples, just because of their initiative and business capacity. The Russian ethnologist Danilevski calls the Csech people a monstrosity, a German people with a Slav tongue. But these men have overlooked the fact that the foundation of modern Csech prosperity was laid by the religion of the Csech Brethren. During the Catholic reaction the Csech Protestants were driven from their possessions and treated as aliens in their own country. Being thus compelled to evolve a new means of gaining a livelihood, they turned to industry. Trade and the towns were closed to them, and the Csech Brethren had to seek refuge in the Bohemian and Moravian hills, and the Orlic mountains. They became weavers, wood-carvers and miners, and laid the foundation of the great modern Bohemian textile, glass and earthenware industries. Religious considerations and nothing else have made the Csechs into a mercantile nation. England’s wealth also springs from a religious movement—the rise of Puritanism. Thrift and industry led to the accumulation of capital. Only a religious man understands work and thrift, and he alone knows how to utilise capital as a moral lever. For this reason it would be wrong to adopt the views of the Russian ethnologist. The Csech people as they are have a right to their future and to freedom.

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In the centre of Prague, on the summit of the Hradčin, stands the old Csech Royal Castle, a splendid monument of past greatness. Proud and lofty, visible from afar, it speaks to the Csech people of the days when it sheltered—not the foreign invader, but flesh of their flesh, Csech kings and princes of their own blood. And even as it is a monument of the past, it is also a beacon for the present and the future. When the setting sun sheds his crimson glory upon Castle and Hradčin, it seems as though the very stones were aglow with the reflection of all the Csech blood that has been shed in the defence of right and liberty. But—the royal splendour vanishes with the sun, and the shadow of night descends on Castle and height like a symbol of the present age of gloom. Day by day, with burning eyes, the Csech reads the wordless message. Yet he does not give way to dreams, or sink into deep melancholy, nor does he wait for a miracle. He clenches his fist and smiles the grim smile of the tireless warrior. His fickleness at the time of the Reformation weighs like a sin on his conscience, but its ideals have set their mark upon him and quickened the seed of political reformation in his soul. In this matter the Csechs take the lead among all the Slavs in Austria-Hungary.

I have already mentioned that in certain Slav circles the Csechs are looked upon as Germans with a Slav tongue. But, if their industrial and mercantile prosperity and certain individual characteristics lend some colour to this view, it is quite refuted by the Csech activity in the Slav national and political cause. In their sturdy and progressive struggle against Germanization the Csechs have set the other Austrian Slavs a tactical and practical example as to how the struggle should be fought—tactically on constitutional lines, and, practically, with indomitable courage and perseverance.

In spite of their long subjection to an absolute autocracy, the Csechs developed into so strong a political factor, that even Vienna began to fear the weight of their hand. They achieved this not only from a sense of self-preservation or separatist selfishness like the Poles, but the Slav ideal runs like a gold thread through all they have done; it is their motto, task and goal. They were beset from three sides, by the Austrian Germans in all their power, by Polish opposition, and by Magyar agitations and hostile influences in Vienna. The Southern Slav deputies in the Reichstag were their only helpers in the unequal struggle. But they never relaxed their energy and they never yielded a position they had won.

The national struggle in Bohemia took on its present form in the first half of the nineteenth century, and it first centred round “cultural” interests as in other Slav countries. The love of the people for their own language had to be established and even rekindled to a pitch of fiery enthusiasm, and national education had also to be fostered by the foundation of Csech national schools. The State was by no means anxious to enlighten the people, and the number of schools maintained in the country was quite inadequate. The fiscal schools were all German and served to spread the German propaganda. But the Csech educated classes founded schools at their own expense, as well as the “Matica Školska” (School Union), which undertook the organization of these schools. This was an effective counter-stroke to Germanization as well as a good foundation for further success. Palacky, Kollar and Havliček were leaders of the National movement of the time.

Palacky was the source from whom the others drew their inspiration. He was a great thinker, a brilliant author, and a cautious, liberal-minded politician who may be considered the founder of modern Csech national life. And through him radiated the light that pointed the way which these people must take. Kollar, the poet and publicist, and Havliček, as politician and political economist, shared the Csech leadership with Palacky, and paved the way for a great national intellectual movement which kept pace with the national political movement. They founded a strong nationalist party in Bohemia (The Old Csechs) in opposition to the Viennese Government. With their majority in the Landtag, and their appearance in the Viennese Parliament, the Csech people became a factor with whom the Government had to reckon for good or for evil—a people who refused to be ousted. Bohemia, which official Austria loves to consider a German country, had to be divided into “spheres.” The State had to pay for the upkeep of Csech schools and the administration became bi-lingual! Of course, in accordance with the usual Government policy, many Csech localities were included in German spheres and promptly became bones of contention. The “Matica Školska” founded more schools in these spheres to prevent the Germanization of Csech children, whilst the German schools pursued their system of an unofficial propaganda with the tacit support of the Government. This state of affairs led to constant disturbances, which frequently degenerated into riot and bloodshed. With the rise of the “Young Csechs” the struggle assumed a more drastic and determined character, for this party aimed at nothing less than a purely Csech government for Bohemia, and a proportionate share in the management of Imperial affairs. They repeatedly succeeded in wrecking the Austrian Government, and under Prince Hohenlohe they were so strongly represented in the Cabinet that they succeeded in making their power felt. The “Young Csechs” have greatly helped the national cause in Bohemia, and also furthered the Slav cause by their enthusiastic championship of the All-Slav Ideal.

One of their leaders, Dr. Kramarz, who was very friendly with Russia, has been specially active in this cause. Though the “Young Csechs” are still the leading party, recent years have seen the rise of parties even more radical in their demands. The Social-Nationals and the Csech Radicals desire to see Bohemia an absolutely autonomous State, whereas the followers of Professor Masaryk aim at the regeneration of the Csech race on a different basis (see opening of this article).

Events have moved rapidly in Bohemia since the last Balkan war, which made a profound impression on all the Austrian Slavs. Owing to the uncompromising attitude taken up by the various parties, the Government dissolved the Bohemian Landtag, suspended the constitution and placed the administration in the hands of a Commission appointed by the Government and responsible to none. The Csechs retorted by a violent obstruction in the Viennese Parliament and so paralyzed the House, that it had to be prorogued indefinitely. The Csechs demanded the immediate convocation of the Landtag. “No Landtag, no Austrian Parliament,” was their watchword, and they stood firm. When the crisis with Serbia and the outbreak of the war occurred, the Parliament was unable to adopt any attitude towards these events, and the only constitutional body in the Monarchy able to deal with them was the Hungarian Parliament.