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in the majority of nostrified businesses, and in many nostrified businesses the Czech capital gained decisive influence. In this way, nostrification, which was meant to release the Czechoslovak Republic from the economic influence of Vienna and Budapest, introduced complex mechanisms to promote the participation of the Czech capital, and consequently rearranged the powers of individual nations within the Czechoslovak economy, weakening the Germans and Hungarians. The persons concerned were mostly foreigners, i.e. citizens of newly established Austria and Hungary, but that was largely irrelevant in terms of the influence of the nations within the state. Overall, through monetary reform, nostrification, and repatriation of the capital the Czech business elite managed to eliminate German and Hungarian supremacy in industry, business and banking, and to effect large capital and property transfers to their own benefit. On the other hand, it should be emphasised that the strengthening of the Czech positions in the economy was a long-term process which had started at the time of the Habsburg Monarchy, and that the Germans themselves were largely responsible for the weakening of their positions. Notably during the crucial initial stages after the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic the Germans felt distrust and antipathy toward Czechoslovakia, and lesser participation of the German capital significantly contributed to a reinforced Czech position within the new state’s emerging economy.265 While the crucial influence of the German capital was weakened, it remained greater than what the proportion of the minority to the population would suggest. Thus, in many prominent businesses (notably in the mining and metallurgy industry) the German language remained as the official language, and Germans often held dominant positions in businesses with a predominantly Czech workforce. “Managers of mines and ironworks who were in charge of production tended to prefer German workers, assigned better paid work to them, and did not dismiss them among the first ones to be dismissed . . . , etc.”266 In this way, the members of the largest German minority managed to maintain, at least partially, their advantageous position in the private sector, unlike in the public sector. As in the case of industry and business, at the beginning of the existence of independent Czechoslovakia agricultural property was largely held by the Germans and Hungarians. One third of all land belonged to large farm estates which were predominantly owned by German and Hungarian aristocracy and the Catholic church. The land reform, in addition to its national significance, also aimed at social aspects because the rural population had struggled with 265 Lacina, Formování československé ekonomiky, pp. 91, 100, 109 and 125; Kárník, České země v éře první republiky, vol. 1, pp. 213–220. 266 Deyl, Sociální vývoj Československa 1918–1938, p. 40.
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a shortage of available land.267 A peculiar side effect of the land reform was the Czechisation of part of the aristocracy living in Czechoslovakia (in particular the houses of Lobkowicz, Colloredo-Mansfeld and Schwarzenberg). These aristocrats also tried to become closer to the most influential Czech Agrarian Party. Thanks to their connections at the Land Office, at the Prague Castle, and at the Agrarian Party, a part of aristocracy managed to avoid land reform rather successfully.268 An important element of the reform was the colonisation of sparsely populated borderland regions, mainly in Slovakia. The colonists were almost invariably Czechs and Slovaks who were financially supported by the state, which irritated the minorities, although the actual scale of the operation was rather limited.269 Agrarian reforms, which took place after WWI in Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Lithuania, and other countries, were often criticized as measures targeted against minorities.270 Many complaints against land reforms were dealt with by the League of Nations, which struggled with their resolution due to the complexity of the issues in connection with specific technical and agricultural matters. Minorities invoked minority treaties and referred to land reforms inter alia as violations of internationally guaranteed equality of citizens. Unlike many other issues which provoked criticism of the new socalled successor states by the international community, these interventions were largely considered as justified by other (mainly western) countries, aimed at consolidating the social situation in rural areas. According to one of the directors of the Minority Section of the League of Nations, Pablo de Azcárate, the land reforms negatively affected the minorities as a natural consequence of the historical development, because previously the ruling nations had been preferred and after the war they became minorities. He went on to designate the reforms as the basis for the economic and social consolidation of those countries, and he considered it preposterous if the minority treaties had not allowed such measures as violations of equality. Although in some countries the reforms were accompanied by unfair treatment, this expert indicated that in Czechoslovakia the agrarian reform was conducted in the fairest manner.271
267 For legal aspects see Kuklík, Czech law in historical contexts, pp. 91–92. For political and social aspects Kárník, České země v éře první republiky, vol. 1, pp. 453, 470, 479–488. 268 Lacina, Formování československé ekonomiky, pp. 125, 129. 269 Martuliak, “Kolonizačná akcia pri I. pozemkovej reforme,” pp. 81–85. 270 In more details for example Wojciech Roszkowski, Land Reforms in East Central Europe After World War One (Warsaw: Institute of Political Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences, 1995). 271 Azcárate, League of Nations and National Minorities, pp. 62–64: “I feel that the state which carried out agrarian reform with the greatest justice to its minority was Czechoslovakia” (pp. 63–64).
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2.4 LANGUAGE LAW Language law, i.e. legislation concerning the possibility to use the mother tongue when approaching authorities and within the scope of their activities, created, in common practice, essentially the most important, as well as the most extensive, part of national minority law.272 Before an overview of the First Czechoslovak Republic legislation we first have to refer to the historical development of the issue, which is, in connection with the language law, of major influence. Without the knowledge of a number of circumstances relating to the times of the Habsburg Monarchy quite a few elements of the law of the Czechoslovak Republic cannot be fully comprehended.273 In Austrian part of the Habsburg Monarchy the language issue was regulated by Article 19 of the “Fundamental Law of the State” (Act No. 142/1867, Austrian RGBl), which granted all nations equality – also when using their own languages. This brief provision, though, was interpreted quite differently and gave rise to conflicts which sometimes had to be resolved out in the streets! Germans, holding the position of the ruling nation, claimed that this was just a general principle which had to be amended to be actually implemented.274 Using these arguments they tried to keep the prerogative position of the German language over the Czech language in the Czech lands. Disputes arose e.g. over the concept of “all customary languages in the country” – which should all possess equality “in school, office and public life” (Article 19, section 2). In accordance with the opinion advocated by some courts, with which German nationalists agreed, the German language was commonly used in the entire territory of the Czech lands, while the Czech language was used only in some areas, and not within districts inhabited by a German majority even though settled by a relatively strong Czech minority. There were two major issues surrounding the conflicts concerning the language of state administration. First: the differentiation between the external and internal official language. Second: how this issue should be regulated – by an Act of Parliament (or Provincial Diet), by a regulation, or just by internal ordinance.275 Meanwhile the Czech language was usually accepted 272 See for example Peter Mosný, “Poznámky k jazykovému právu v Československu 1918–1938,” in Minority v politike: Kultúrne a jazykové práva, ed. by Jana Plichtová (Bratislava: Česko-slovenský výbor Európskej kultúrnej nadácie, 1992), pp. 112–113. 273 Even during the times of the Habsburg monarchy the old history, sometimes back to the 12th century, was used as an argument supporting language disputes, Jan Kapras, Přehled vývoje české jazykové otázky (Prague: R. Brož, 1910). 274 See Slovník veřejného práva československého, p. 62ff.; or Klepetař, Der Sprachenkampf in den Sudetenländern, pp. 35–126. 275 Of major importance was namely the so-called Pacák’s Proposal of the Language Act from the end of the 19th century – Allgemeines Verwaltungsarchiv Wien, collection Ministerium
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