Commentary: A History of Slovakia: The Struggle for Survival by Stanislav J. Kirschbaum

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Disclaimer: I only read 75% of this book, as the latter content did not relate to my focus of study. ⁣
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History, especially the study of history, looks like a spider web. I remember, back in high school history class, we were taught that history is much more simple, more evenly structured than it really is. Back then, history to me looked like a family tree. Every event has its place, its context, its "proper" understanding. But now I see that history isn't like that at all. Like a web, moments in history begin at their epicenter and grow outwards, spiraling like a galaxy. Individual stories start small, evolving into local myth. Teachers teach what they think. Students learn and then question and then forget. Politicians weave their agendas out of the webbing already spun-- knots catch and holes rip. Repairs are made as scholars unravel the nest of facts and fiction, but they too choose the pieces they like the best. Each rung around the center stretches the story bigger and bigger until it becomes something else-- touching perhaps on other spider webs nearby. And then, suddenly, one fowl swing can bring the whole web down. Sometimes such webs are left behind entirely to be forgotten. But sometimes pieces are salvaged and woven back together again-- whole but not in the same way as before. ⁣
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Chaotic and unruly as it is, one thing is certain: History depends on who tells it. ⁣
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Kirschbaum's A History of Slovakia: The Struggle for Survival explores the overarching history of the Slovakian people dating back to pre-history. Dry and certainly not for the recreational reader, Kirschbaum's history of Slovakia felt much more like a history of Central Europe, which is fair given the interwoven histories of Slovaks, Magyars, Germans, and Czechs. I started this book hoping for an opportunity to learn about Slovakian culture through a historical lens. I did not get what I was looking for. But I did discover an interesting discussion on how the development of a spoken and written Slovakian language affected the collective consciousness, but perhaps more fascinating-- how language affected the study of Slovakian history.

The Slovaks have always had "a strong oral tradition celebrated in song and poetry heroes and happy events and deplored villains and disasters." But little of that oral tradition was written down in scholarly work. While oral traditions are just as valid and scholarly as written traditions, the lack of writing on Slovakian history from a Slovak point of view had a real impact on global politics in a way that rarely benefited the Slovaks.

Kirschbaum writes,

"...when the Slovaks joined the Czechs in their common state in 1918, Slovak history and national goals were basically unknown in the West. At a time when the principle of national self-determination was applied to Central Europe to break up the Habsburg, Ottoman, and Romanov empires, this Western ignorance of Slovak goals enabled the allies to bypass the Slovaks when redrawing the map of Europe."  

Then, even when Slovakian history became a more popular subject matter for scholars, it was mainly written by non-Slovaks.

"In so doing, they have in fact created a second-class status for certain nations. The history of the Slovaks in the West has usually been presented from the point of view of Czechoslovakism and has appeared as hardly more than a postscript of Czech history."  

This conversation, held largely in Kirschbaum's introduction though present throughout the book, reminds me of how important it is for #ownvoices content to be centered, funded, and read. #Ownvoicesreviews has become a much larger practice on #bookstagram and in publishing, which is a huge victory worth celebrating. And we all have a role to play. Central to our role is to consistently be honest and open about our identities and how they impact our reading and regurgitating of materials.

I am not Slovakian. This history is not mine. Characters in my fiction are Slovakian and so, to honor them as much as I can, I turn to their history, to their words, and to their perspectives. For those of you, like me, who want to read about Slovak history and culture by Slovaks, I urge you to check out the following writers: Michal Hvorecký, Jana Beňová, Ivana Dobrakovová, Martin Kukučín, Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, and Hana Ponická. There are many, many more to choose from as well.