Robert William Seton-Watson

“ And these are the people who, like their Serb, Croat, and Slovene kinsmen in the south of Austria-Hungary, are being compelled by a brutal and perverse system to fight the battles of Berlin, Vienna, and Budapest, to pay the bill run up by the crimes and follies of German-Magyar policy, to sacrifice thousands of their best sons, fighting against their own kinsmen and friends against all their dearest traditions and aspirations. ”

“ The Bohemian nation, alone and unaided, held all Europe at bay for close upon twenty years, and routed army after army which the Germans sent against them. There have been moments in history—it is necessary to emphasize this to-day—when the German spirit has led the van of Europe. But on the occasion of the Hussite Wars, as in the present European tragedy, Germany unquestionably stood for reaction and for the imposition of an alien “Kultur.” To-day the legions of Bohemia are forced unwillingly, by a foul and unnatural system, to fight the battles of their deadliest enemies. ”

“ To-day there are two Universities in Prague, a German and a Czech, the latter with more students than Oxford and Cambridge combined, and some professors of European fame. In Bohemia and Moravia to-day there are practically no illiterates.
In drama the Czechs are also well to the fore. The National Theatre at Prague is one of the best of its kind in Europe; indeed, to many chance visitors the existence of this splendid Slavonic theatre must have been something of a revelation. Still more is this true of music, for which the Czechs are justly celebrated. ”

“ The best that we can do is to educate public opinion to oppose strenuously the suppression of national minorities, and to make a guarantee of linguistic rights in the schools, churches, local bodies and cultural institutions a sine qua non in the settlement of each individual problem. The Germans of Bohemia and Southern Hungary must be secured the same privileges as the Magyars in the future Greater Roumania. ”

“ The heroic achievement of John Hus has been well characterized in the words of his countryman and biographer, Count Lützow: “If neglecting for a moment the minutiæ of mediæval theological controversy, we consider as a martyr that man who willingly sacrifices his individual life for what he firmly believes to be the good of humanity at large, who ‘takes the world’s life on him and his own lays down,’ then assuredly there is no truer martyr in the world’s annals than John Hus.” ”

“ Nowhere are the three dominant factors of modern life-religion, nationality, and economics—more strongly marked than in the history of Bohemia. At such a time as the present there can be no desire to give an aggressive turn to such an anniversary, or to exploit it in a way that might offend those of different religious views; but we cannot, surely, be blamed for using the occasion for the expression of our admiration and reverence. ”

“ It was the first University to be founded in the whole German and Slavonic world, and it was here, fittingly enough, that the first great conflict of two widely differing cultures was to be fought out.
That the Czechs triumphed over their German rivals, was largely due to the genius of one man, John Hus, who as priest of the Bethlehem Chapel in Prague and Rector of the University, had won to a rare degree the confidence and admiration of his fellow-countrymen. ”

“ Above all, racial sympathies and a close community of economic interests are likely to link Bohemia with the new Jugoslav State which, it is to be hoped, will be formed by the union of Croatia, Dalmatia, and Bosnia with Serbia and Montenegro. Bohemia, like Jugoslavia, will alike by inclination and by necessity be the ally of the Triple Entente and a powerful obstacle in the path of German aggression.
The chief difficulty which will face the new State is the problem of racial minorities for in the event of Bohemian independence it will inevitably include at least a million and a half Germans. ”

“ But surely we are entitled to believe that the spirit of John Žižka, the heroic blind general of the Czechs, is fighting on our side to-day, and to hope that the nation which through his victories did so much to secure the intellectual freedom and progress of Europe, will ere long be in a position to pursue once more its independent existence. ”

“ Bohemia and Silesia form to-day the chief industrial centre of Austria. Bohemian glass, sugar, and textiles have won something more than local fame; and so too the famous beer of Pilsen, and that other less innocuous product of the same town, the armaments of the great Skoda works. It is the rapid growth of Bohemian mining industries and manufactures which has so seriously complicated the racial struggle between Czech and German. ”

“ For many reasons, notably out of deference to the feelings of the Russian Government, a Czech Republic is quite impracticable, but in restoring the ancient Kingdom of Bohemia, the Czechs have no national dynasty to whom they can turn. A German prince is of course out of the question, and they may perhaps experience some difficulty in finding a suitable candidate for the new throne among the reigning families of the West. ”

“ It is to perpetuate this infamous system that the Magyar oligarchy, under the able leadership of Count Tisza, is fighting this war; and it can hardly be wondered at that every Czech and Slovak should approve the rival programme of Bohemian independence. The difficulties which lie in the way of such a programme are many and obvious. The new State would be seriously handicapped by the lack of a seaboard, just as are Switzerland and Serbia to-day. ”

“ The Slovak Press has for years been subject to brutal persecution. Right of assembly or association does not exist for the unhappy Slovaks, or indeed for the other non-Magyar races of Hungary. The small intellectual class is the victim of official pressure and persecution in every imaginable form; and the most drastic steps are taken to prevent the Slovak people from securing its due representation in Parliament. Nowhere has the scandalous system of electoral corruption and violence weighed more heavy than among the Slovaks. ”

“ Novák, Fibich, and other younger composers have also won the attention of the musical world, and it is almost superfluous to mention that Kubelik, the famous violinist, is a native of Bohemia. Prague is a famous centre of music and of art; and though it is impossible to point to any Czech artist of altogether European reputation, all visitors to the modern Gallery of Prague and to the annual exhibitions of the various art societies, are aware that Art is on a higher level in Prague than in many cities more famous in the artistic world. ”

“ Since 1848 the national movement in Bohemia has steadily and irresistibly progressed. Its weakest side has always been the political. The Czechs have produced a very large number of able leaders of the second and third ranks, but not a single one of supreme eminence, and what is most important of all, no one at all comparable to the really great men whom their Magyar contemporaries produced, Deák, Kossuth, and Andrássy. ”

“ The attainment of their independence may not enable them to overcome all these disadvantages, but it is obvious that at the worst the Czechs can scarcely be worse off when they have complete economic and financial control of their own destinies and are thus able to consult their own peculiar interests, than in their present situation, when in all matters economic and political alike the main decision lies at Vienna and Budapest rather than at Prague. ”

“ There can be no question that the new Bohemia would for a considerable period need backing from without. Her people would look above all to Russia; for, though nothing is farther from their wishes than to become a province of Russia, they are certain to remain Russophil after the war, and to desire an intimate accord with Russia. If the war produces the hoped for reconciliation between Russians and Poles, the Czechs are likely to prove a useful intermediary, in view of their community of outlook as Western Slavs. ”

“ But with a population kept in a state of continual ebb and flow by industrial developments, minorities are continually cropping up in unexpected places and then again disappearing; and it is unfortunately the case that both Czech and German employers put very considerable pressure on their workmen in a national sense. In short, economics and nationality are inextricably interwoven in Bohemia, just as in Hungary, Roumania, and the Balkans. ”

“ Geographical unity Bohemia has, but racial unity has been denied to her. For centuries Bohemia has been inhabited by two rival races, the Czechs and the Germans, and has formed one of the chief battle-grounds between the Slav and the Teutonic idea. Into the vexed question, which of the two races has priority or formed the true majority in earlier centuries, we need not enter. ”

“ And at least a word of praise should be reserved for the brilliant group of Moravian artists, which has rallied round the great Slovak peasant-artist Joza Uprka and has made of their art pavilion at Hodonín a shrine of popular art and an inspiration for the artistic development of the future. “Uprka red” has to be seen to be believed, and nowhere can it be seen to better advantage than in the prosperous Slovak villages of the Moravian border. ”

“ They have allowed themselves to squander time and energy over barren linguistic brawls, to overdo the policy of the mere wrecker and obstructionist, and so to destroy their prestige and reputation for political foresight both at home and abroad. Meanwhile their progress in other fields than politics has been altogether admirable. They have developed a rich and attractive literature, with at least two poets of the front rank, Svatopluk Cech and Vrhlicky, as well as numerous novelists, dramatists, historians, and men of science. ”

“ They have always opposed Prussia, Berlin, and the Triple Alliance by every means in their power. Public opinion in Bohemia has always been consistently Francophil and Anglophil, and above all Russophil, emphasizing the kinship and blood ties of all the Slav races. In 1870 it sympathized keenly with France, in 1878 with Russia and her noble struggle for the liberation of the Balkans, for opposing which Britain is to-day paying so terribly in blood and treasure. In 1908 it sympathized equally with Serbia during the Bosnian crisis ”

“ The time will soon come when the Bohemian Question will assume an equal importance, and it is therefore essential to realize that the two problems are intimately connected and likely to be more so every day. The interests of the Czechs and of the Southern Slavs coincide at every point. ”

“ Other instances of summary executions in the Czech regiments have been known to occur throughout the course of the war; and it is a notorious fact that the Czech soldiers surrender whenever an opportunity presents itself and are utterly averse to the idea of fighting either Russia or Serbia. Equally characteristic is the fact that Bohemia is garrisoned almost exclusively by Magyar and Roumanian troops, and by German second-line troops from the Empire. ”

“ Two men do not discuss the war, unless they are certain that no stranger is within earshot. The newspapers are of course completely muzzled, and are even forced to print communications with the contents of which they notoriously disagree. ”

“ Their national attitude in home politics is reflected in their attitude to Foreign Policy. The Czechs have always been pronounced and outspoken opponents of Viennese policy, and still more of the poisonous influence of Budapest and of Magyar racial tyranny upon that policy. ”

“ Political life has of course been completely suspended. As neither the Austrian Parliament nor the provincial Diets are allowed to meet, there is no parliamentary immunity. The party leaders are under the closest observation and have to be extremely careful. Early in the war the authorities made great efforts to induce the Czech parties to publish a manifesto in favour of war, but entirely without success. All remained ominously silent. Bohemia has two political leaders of the highest standing—Dr. ”