Slovakia History: Difference between revisions

In 1938, the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia and established a pro-Nazi, nominally independent state in Slovakia. The ultra Slovak nationalist president, Father Jozef Tiso, allowed Hitler to occupy Slovakia and cooperated with him through the war. Following the Second World War, the state of Czechoslovakia was reestablished. In elections in May 1946, the Communists emerged as the strongest political party and from 1948 until 1989 the country was ruled by a Communist government. In 1989, the wave of political reform that swept through central and eastern Europe quickly led to significant changes in the political structure of Czechoslovakia. By November of 1989, the Communist leadership stepped down and, in December 1989, a new government was established. Free elections were held in 1990 but there was apprehension about how the Czechs and the Slovaks would work together. Other elections in June 1992 revealed a growing rift between the two national parliaments and efforts to find a compromise at the federal level fell apart. In July 1992, the Slovak parliament voted in favor of complete sovereignty for the country. In November 1992, the federal parliament voted to dissolve Czechoslovakia as of 31 December 1992, and on 1 January 1993 the Slovak and Czech Republics became two separate, independent states.

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