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10HISTORICAL SCIENCES
POLITICAL PROGRAMS OF GERMAN PARTIES IN THE FIRST CZECHOSLOVAK REPUBLIC
IN 1918 - 1933
Pikovska T.
senior lecturer at the Department of Law Vinnytsia National Agrarian University.
Ukraine
ABSTRACT
The article is devoted to the activities of German political parties in the First Czechoslovak Republic in the period from 1918 to 1933.Germans were the most numerous national minority in a country, and the German national question was the most essential national question. At first, German political parties perceived the position negatively. In 1920 German political parties were on positions of activity. In Sudet areas were presented practically all political directions.
Keywords: Czechoslovakia, Sudeten Germans, national question, political parties, political programs.
As a result of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the active support of the Entente, a new state, the Czechoslovak Republic, appeared on the map of post-war Europe. The final borders of the new state were determined in 1919 by the Versailles, Saint-Germain and Trianon peace treaties. According to the census conducted in February 1921, there were 13,613,172 people living in the newly created state, including 8,760,937 Czechs and Slovaks, 3,123,568 Germans, 745,431 Hungarians, 461,849 Ruthenians, 180,855 Jews, and 75,863. Poles, 13,974 Romanians, 8,446 Gypsies and 1,343 representatives of other nationalities [7, p.43]. Thus, the largest minority in Czechoslovakia was the Germans, and the most important national issue was the German.
The history of the Sudeten Germans has long interested many scholars. A significant contribution to its study was made by Czech scholars (Broklova E. Brugel J.), who cover the period of the Sudetenland as part of Czechoslovakia, while paying considerable attention to the problem of interaction between Czechs and Germans, the political role of Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia [1,2]. The history of Sudeten Germans is devoted to the research of Russian scholars. Among them are the works of Kretinin S. [4,5,6,7], in which the history of Sudeten-German political parties is studied in detail. The works of these authors are written on extensive archival material.
The aim of the article is to study the political programs of German parties in the First Czechoslovak Republic, in 1918-1933.
The history of the German question in Czechoslovakia is largely a history of Czech-German controversies that began long before the formation of this state. From the end of the XIX century. Czech-German conflicts became one of the main components of the national conflict in Austria-Hungary. Their essence was the desire of the Czech and German people to exercise the right to self-determination. The realization of the right to self-determination for the Czech people consisted in the formation of an independent state which was to include territories with a German population. As Z. Karnik noted in this regard: "The main tragedy in the exercise of the right to self-determination for the Czech
and German peoples was that the exercise of the right to self-determination by one of the peoples automatically contradicted the right to self-determination of another" [9, p.38].
The inclusion of the Sudetenland in the Czechoslovak Republic marked the beginning of another aggravation of Czech-German relations within the new state. It is worth analyzing the causes of this conflict.
Undoubtedly, the main reason for the negative attitude of the German population to the Czechoslovak Republic is the loss of their privileged position, which they held in Austria-Hungary. The authorities of the new state proclaimed the basis of state policy to be dominated by democratic principles, according to which the organization of state power and the solution of important social issues should be carried out according to the will of the majority of the population. The Germans in Austria-Hungary, although they did not have a majority, held a privileged position. As a result, the Germans formed a negative attitude towards democracy as a form of social order in general. As the Sudeten German politician W. Jaksch noted in this regard: "Every step towards democratization reduced the influence of the Germans in the empire" [2, p.45].
The Germans perceived the process of democratization of society differently than the Czechs. For the Germans it is a reduction of their economic and social influence, for the Czechs it is the achievement of national freedom and state independence. Criticism of the Czechoslovak state system has long been the basis of the political line of German parties. It was reduced to the following main points:
1). Most Sudeten Germans believed that their political rights were not fully respected. Sudeten German politicians have repeatedly stated that "Sudeten Germans are deprived of all rights in the state of" humanism and democracy ", which was proclaimed by the Czechs, and which is only for them" [1, p.34].
2). The Sudeten Germans did not agree with the status of a national minority in Czechoslovakia. At the same time, they claimed that the Czechs themselves, who without Slovaks accounted for 49% and were a national minority in their country [50, p.861]
3). The decision on the fate of the Sudeten Germans was made without their participation by the Czech Revolutionary People's Assembly, and the peace treaties that enshrined this decision "cut the whole organism of the German nation" [65, p.41].
4). German politicians criticized the proportional electoral system, which, in their opinion, did not ensure proper representation of the German population in government [4, p.86].
The national question in the programs of German political parties in the First Czechoslovak Republic underwent certain evolutionary changes, in accordance with the political processes that took place in Czech-German relations. According to them, there are four stages in the evolution of the national question in the political programs of the Sudeten Germans. The first, initial, stage lasted from 1918 to September 1919. This was the period of formation of German political parties in Czechoslovakia and the creation of the first political programs. At this stage, political parties focused on the struggle for self-determination, which became the main slogan of all Sudeten German political parties. After the former peoples of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy embarked on the path of building their own statehood, the idea of unification with Germany became popular among the Sudeten Germans.
One of the most influential German parties in Czechoslovakia at this stage was the German Social Democratic Workers' Party. The Social Democrats began their history in the Czechoslovak state with the founding congress, which lasted from August 31 to September 3, 1919 in Teplice [4, p .86]. The Congress proclaimed the formation of the German Social Democratic Workers' Party in the Czechoslovak Republic (GSDWP(Cz)). J. Zeliger was elected the first chairman of the party. The congress also considered the party's program, called the "Program of Action" or "Program of National Autonomy," which proclaimed the struggle for national autonomy, not only for the Germans but also for all other minorities in Czechoslovakia. The program was considered by its authors as the only way out of "the dictates of Prague."
The congressional declaration, authored by O. Bauer, emphasized that the Czechoslovak Republic was "a product of the victory of Entente imperialism." Bauer applied to Czechoslovakia his theoretical concept of the special nature of World War II as a bourgeois revolution for the peoples of the Habsburg Empire. He emphasized that the Entente and the Czechoslovak state had rejected the right of nations to self-determination and had become a counter-revolutionary force. Thus, "to overcome the counter-revolutionary nature of the modern Czechoslovak state" was, according to Bauer, the immediate goal of the German Social Democrats [9, p.84].
To this end, the congress demanded that Czechoslovakia renounce its alliance with the Entente, replace the regular army with a territorially and nationally organized militia, and restructure the country's administrative-territorial organization on the principles of national decentralization. At the same time, the program of national autonomy of the Sudeten German Social Democracy contained virtually no provisions on the
functions of the central government in the Czechoslovak Republic, only that "the National Assembly and the government appointed by it are those issues that cannot be resolved nations "[7, p.18].
The implementation of this program would lead to the transformation of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic into a confederation of practically independent national districts and oblasts. It is no coincidence that J. Zeliger spoke from the rostrum of the congress in favor of transforming Czechoslovakia into a "second Switzerland".
The Constituent Assembly did not adopt the party's program, formally maintaining fidelity to the ideological provisions of the main programs of Austrian and German Social Democracy - the Erfurt program of 1891, the Social Democratic Party of Germany, the Brunn National Program of 1899 and the Vienna 1901 program of the Austrian Social Democrats [4, p.87].
The main competitor of the Social Democrats for the votes of German voters were German farmers. Their party was officially called the Farmers' Union. It appeared in November 1918. on the basis of the German Agrarian Party. The initiator of the founding of the party was the former Social Democrat J. Janausch, thanks to whom a number of organizational principles of Social Democracy were borrowed. Prominent leaders of the party were F. Krzepek and F. Peterle. The party carried out active anti-socialist propaganda, using a critical analysis of Marxist works on the agrarian question [4, p.88].
The party's program was adopted at the founding congress in 1918. It stated: "We demand for the German people in the Sudetenland and Slovakia a full and unlimited right to self-determination." However, immediately after this requirement, the program included the recognition of the "republican form of government" and the requirement of equal rights for all citizens of the country, the protection of national minorities. The party leadership emphasized that it defends the interests of the rural population, so a significant place in the program was occupied by socio-economic issues related to the improvement of the situation of the German peasantry [5, p.213].
The party took a restrained stance towards the Czechoslovak state, and its course on the national question was marked by considerable moderation in comparison with other German political parties.
The German Christian Socialist People's Party (GCSPP) or clergymen were slightly inferior in importance to agrarians. The party was founded in November 1918. In the first years of the Czechoslovak Republic's existence, the Christian Socialists were almost entirely under the leadership of Vienna. The party largely copied the organization, political strategy and tactics of the Austrian clergy. The GCSPP was the only German political party to recognize the Czechoslovak capital, Prague, as its political center. Other political organizations of the Sudeten Germans initially considered it an act of national humiliation [5, p.238].
Along with farmers, clerics were supporters of a moderate national course. In the 1919 program, they advocated "the commonwealth of all peoples, all de-
nominations, and all classes in the state." On the national question, they advocated "political equality" and "guaranteed local self-government." The ideologists of the party considered Catholicism to be the basis for consolidation and peace in the state. That is, put forward in the first place the issue of religious and cultural development [6, p. 115].
The German National Party in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (GNP) took a negative position on the Czechoslovak state.
The first section of the program was devoted to the administrative-territorial structure of the republic "The territory of the state should be divided into self-governing areas, which should have the right to decide on culture, education, language, social policy, entrepreneur-ship, land use and forestry, public works, transport and police. As well as the right to appoint government officials and teachers "[7, p.148].
Participation in central authorities should be carried out "by sending representatives from the region to national authorities." The powers of the national authorities, according to the authors of the program, should extend to "constitutional issues, certain issues of language and culture", as well as to "resolving disputes between self-governing areas" [7, p. 148].
Given the above, it can be argued that the future structure of the GNP (Cz) was represented in the form of a federation, with broad regional rights. In its program, the party proceeded from the principles of negativism, emphasizing "It is absolutely clear that only extraordinary circumstances can force the Czech people to grant political autonomy to the Sudeten Germans." The party leaders called for the creation of a single Sudeten German political party and a single Sudeten German policy.
Next to the GNP (Cz) on the right flank of the Sudeten German political parties was the German National Socialist Workers' Party in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (GNSWP (Cz)). The party arose on the basis of the German Workers' Party, which combined criticism of Marxism and capitalism. The name "German National Socialist Workers' Party" appeared in May 1918. Later it was borrowed by A. Hitler for his party [5, p.83].
The party was officially founded in Czechoslovakia at the founding congress in May 1919. in Du-khtsov. The program adopted in the same year was based on the doctrine of negativism. It objected to the very fact of the creation of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and contained requirements for the observance of the right to self-determination for all Germans living in the territory of the state. Also, anti-Semitism and racism were part of the party's political doctrine.
Along with the major German political parties, smaller parties emerged in the Czechoslovak Republic. Among them is the German Democratic Party of Freedom of Speech (GDPFS), which the Czech researcher J. Shebek calls the smallest party of the German minority in the Czechoslovak Republic [5, p.88].
The party emerged in late September 1919 on the basis of the liberally oriented German Progressive Party. The party leaders were L. Spiegel and B. Kafka.
The latter was known for his active cooperation with President Masaryk, with whom he repeatedly met to discuss the German question in the Czechoslovak Republic [8, p.89].
The program, adopted in 1919. was written in the spirit of liberalism. In the field of national issues, she demanded the granting of autonomy to the Sudeten Germans, while declaring the need for cooperation with the Czechoslovak government to improve the situation of the German population [4, p. 90].
The second stage was the period of Sudeten German negativism, which lasted from the end of 1919 to 1925.
The process of formation of German political parties in the Czechoslovak Republic created the basis for the political representation of the German national community in the state. In this regard, the Czech researcher L. Beran noted: "Sudeten Germans experienced a reflection on the political system of old Austria, but political events required a democratic understanding of the political system and the existing party system. Therefore, a nationwide body of Sudeten Germans was needed, but the existing political parties, as usual, protected their own interests, thus working against their national community "[2, p.105].
It is worth noting that among the demands of German political parties was the only common requirement for all - the demand for autonomy. It was due to the formation of the concept of negativism among the Sudeten Germans, ie their rejection of the Czechoslovak state and its new status as a national minority in it [6, p.32].
The programs of German political parties since 1919, regardless of their political orientation, indicate their rejection of the new political reality. Their political programs contain almost open calls for the destruction of the Czechoslovak state. At the same time, German political forces did not want to hold any talks with Czech politicians on the future status of Germans in the country. It should be noted that Czech political parties also did not seek to unite with the Sudeten Germans and rather demonstrated a desire to lay the foundations of public administration without the participation of German politicians [6, p.108].
The vast majority of German parties of the first Czechoslovak Socialist Republic began their history in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. In the first years of the Czechoslovak Republic's existence, no new political party emerged. The beginning of the struggle for autonomy did not contribute to the establishment of contacts with Czech political forces, the only exception being the Social Democrats. The German political camp in Czechoslovakia can be divided into several blocks, according to political orientation.
The first includes the Social Democrats and the Communists.
The second, the centrist bloc, was formed by the Christian Socialists, agrarians, and several small parties (for example, the German Freedom of Speech Party and the German Craft Party).
The Third Bloc included nationalist parties, the Sudeten German National Party and the German Na-
tional Socialist Workers' Party. The latter was sometimes blocked with the Social Democrats as a socialist party [5, p.86].
The first constructive political dialogue, during which the Sudeten German politicians expressed their political demands, was the reception by Prime Minister V. Tusar on December 20, 1919, of a delegation from the Social Democrats. A delegation consisting of L. Cech, J. Zeliger and E. Strauss handed V. Tusar a memorandum, much of which was devoted to describing the difficult economic situation in which the German regions of Czechoslovakia were.
At the same time, the authors of the memorandum explained the difficult situation of the Sudeten Germans by "a purposeful policy of oppressing the German population by Czechoslovak imperialism, which at the same time harms the rest of the country's population." The documents contained protests against the need for German workers and employees to study the Czech language and the "dictatorship of the German school" [3, p.109].
The situation of the Germans in the new state was characterized as follows: "Our people, who were the most economically and culturally developed in old Austria, in Czechoslovakia are treated as a conquered people, naked without culture and history, and without hope for freedom" [3, p. 109]
The necessary conditions for resolving the German question, according to the Social Democrats, were "the convening of all the peoples of this state to create a constitution and lay the democratic foundations for the coexistence of different peoples in the state and the demands of the working class." Prime Minister V. Tusar responded with objections to the sharp tone of the memorandum and said that the Germans demanded dictatorial powers. He promised to pay considerable attention to the problem of improving the situation of German workers next year. The ministers present at the meeting noted that not only Germans but also the rest of the population of the republic suffer from the difficult economic situation [3, p.109].
Three days later, a delegation from non-socialist German parties, led by R. Londgmann, arrived for an audience with Prime Minister W. Tusar. The memorandum protested against the "dictatorship of the German school", complained about the difficult economic situation of the Sudeten Germans and the bureaucratization of the state apparatus. The parties demanded: "the dissolution of the revolutionary parliament and the convening of the Diet with the participation of all peoples to work on a common constitution" [7, p.518].
The memorandum was sharply criticized in the Czech nationalist press, which called for "it is unacceptable that the problems of the German minority affect the question of state formation" [2, p.108].
Czech politicians responded to German demands, but differently than the Germans had hoped: on the eve of the parliamentary elections, a constitution and a number of laws were adopted, which was the final stage of the Czechoslovak revolution. This happened at a time when German political parties demanded a revision and change of all state-building steps taken and the formation of new foundations for the existence of the
republic. Both memoranda were a clear indication of the reluctance of the Germans to cooperate with the Czechs. A characteristic feature of Sudeten German policy during this period was uncompromising in combination with excessive demands, which did not correspond to the situation in which the Sudeten Germans found themselves in Czechoslovakia [2, p.145].
The election, which took place on April 18, 1920, brought German political parties 72 seats out of 300, or 24%. The Social Democrats achieved the greatest success - 31 seats [5, p.86].
The success of the German Social Democrats in the elections put the party in front of the need to improve the programmatic provisions of the party, in accordance with the existing socio-political reality.
Consideration of the draft of the new program of the German Social Democrats took place at the second congress of the party, which took place in Carlsbad on October 3-7, 1920. Its convocation was associated with the strengthening of the left opposition led by K. Kreibich in the middle presented its draft new political program.
The main goal of the program was proclaimed by the left to be the struggle for socialist transformation. The authors of the draft program associated the solution of the national question not with the concept of national autonomy and the exercise of the right of nations to self-determination, but with the establishment of close cooperation with the left wing of the Czechoslovak socialist movement [2, p.57].
In contrast to the project of the left, a draft program of 5 items was presented, which concerned the inadmissibility of violent methods of struggle.
In the end, despite serious differences between the majority of the party led by J. Zeliger and the left-wing opposition, there was no split in the party at this congress. The declaration adopted by the Congress on the means and methods of achieving socialism was a compromise between the left-wing wing of the party and its moderate majority [5, p.86].
The compromise reached in Carlsbad was shortlived. Finally, the split within the GSDWP(Cz) was formalized by the entry of the left opposition group into the HRC on October 30, 1921 [5, p.86].
Analyzing the reasons for the split in the ranks of the Social Democrats, the Russian researcher S. Kretinin noted that "the Social Democrats proceeded from the principle of the right of Sudeten Germans to self-determination, as well as other nations. The Communists also emphasized their commitment to the principle of the right of nations to self-determination, but they considered the solution of the national question possible only after the solution of the social question "[6, p. 11].
Thus, if the Social Democrats remained in the position of the national party, the Communists organized themselves as an international party.
Characterizing the political activities of the GSDWP(Cz) in the first half of the 20's. It should be noted that the basis of its political line was the tactics of non-cooperation and unconstructive opposition. This helped succeed in the 1919 and 1920 elections, but eventually led to the party's political isolation.
In the first half of the 1920's, German farmers took a moderate position on the Czechoslovak state. Already in early 1921. The Union of Farmers showed readiness to cooperate with Czechoslovak agrarians, striving to create a united front with them against socialism and communism [6, p.74].
The leaders of the Union of Greengrocers acknowledged that the character of the Czechoslovak state was far from their political ideal: "We live in a formal democracy, which would be fair to call an oligarchy." They advocated a positive policy, for participation in the governance of the Czechoslovak Republic. In the 1920s, the party, without officially rejecting the possibility of creating a broad Sudeten-German front, blocked small German parties and organizations in election coalitions [5, p.88].
The 1920 elections prompted German parties to unite and proclaim common demands for autonomy. In 1920, an association of German political parties called the German Parliamentary Union (GPS) was formed, which included all German political parties that entered parliament, except the Social Democrats. The leaders of the NPS negotiated the membership of the GSDWP(Cz), but the German Social Democrats, unlike the Czechs, did not agree to unite with non-socialist parties [6, p.201].
The position of the German Parliamentary Union on the national question was expressed by its leader R. Londgmann on June 1, 1920 during the proclamation of the "Declaration of the Sudeten German Political Parties", which became the ideological basis of this political formation. The document stated: "The reason for the oppression of the German people in Czechoslovakia is non-compliance with the right of the German people to self-determination. The peace treaties that included the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia were concluded on the basis of false principles and without regard to historical truth. The German Parliamentary Union declares that it will not stop seeking the exercise of the right to self-determination and will direct its activities in this direction on the territory of this state "[4, p.78].
It is worth noting that this document, which after its proclamation provoked deep condemnation from the Czech parliamentarians, for a long time served as an unofficial constitution of German political parties, including those that were not members of the German Parliamentary Union.
The next day, a declaration by the German Social Democrats was proclaimed in parliament. Like the GPS statement, the GSDWP(Cz) statement contained a protest against peace treaties and non-compliance with the right to self-determination for the German people, the only difference being the combination of national requirements with Marxist ideology [5, p.204].
Despite the general negativist sentiments of German politicians, after the 1920 elections. the idea of cooperation with the Czech side appears in their environment. During the reign of V. Tusar's government, the Social Democrats were considered the main candidates for cooperation with the authorities. However, the GSDWP(Cz) as a condition of its cooperation with the
authorities required changes to the constitution and significant concessions in matters of language and education [3, p. 115].
President T. Masaryk took significant steps to involve the Germans in cooperation. In particular, on April 21, 1920, he met with representatives of the NPS to discuss a number of issues, including issues of cooperation with the authorities. GPS Chairman R. Lodg-man rejected the president's offer of cooperation. At the same time, the leader of German farmers welcomed it. Since then, farmers are gradually moving to the position of activism [3, p. 116].
In the early 1920's, the GDPFS was one of the first to move to a policy of activism. Party leader B. Kafka at a meeting with the president on September 19, 1924. defined the program of actions of GDPFS on the decision of a national question. According to her, German activist parties must actively cooperate with the authorities on all important social issues, but in the national question must remain in opposition and seek autonomy for the German population of Czechoslovakia [3, p.210].
It is worth noting that the GDPFS was one of the few German parties in the Czechoslovak Republic that did not become part of the Heinlein movement and remained an activist until the Munich Agreement of 1938.
The idea of cooperation with Czechoslovak political forces in the early 20's. Began to support the Christian Socialists. Thus, at the party congress in Liberka, their leader Mair-Harting stressed the need to "accept the republic as an inevitable reality" and "the importance of improving the dialogue with the authorities" [5, p.213].
Gradually, more and more Sudeten German politicians were inclined to cooperate with the government. Disagreement with the negative policy of R. Lodgman led on November 29, 1922 to the collapse of the GPC. Negativist parties (GNP and GWSWP) merged into the Fighting Comradeship. German agrarians, Christian socialists, the Freedom of Speech Party took the position of activism - the gradual establishment of cooperation with Czechoslovak politicians [184, p.102].
In 1922. a new government began under the leadership of A. Schwegli (1922-1925). Schwegla's election as prime minister was endorsed by German activist politicians. In May 1924, negotiations took place between the Prime Minister and German politicians B. Kafka, R. Mair-Harting, F. Krzepek and F. Spina. The negotiations demonstrated the readiness of a large number of German politicians to cooperate with the Czechoslovak Republic [3, p.218].
Since then, the national question in German political programs has undergone some changes related to the policy of Sudeten German activism. This new stage lasted from 1925 to 1933.
The policy of activism meant the recognition of the Czechoslovak state and constructive cooperation on its basis with the Czechoslovak ruling circles and parties in order to improve the situation of the Sudeten Germans [6, p.76].
Among the reasons for the transition to the policy of activism are: contradictions between the Sudeten
German political parties, fatigue from the role of internal enemy in the state, the desire to come to power in order to improve the situation of the German community in Czechoslovakia.
The main goal of Sudeten German activism was to change the status of the German minority in the republic. In this regard, one of the first activist politicians F. Spina noted: "The ultimate goal of activist policy is to create a state of nationalities in the Czechoslovak Republic, 3.5 million Germans have to keep their hands at the helm of power. We must influence the fate of the German people in the state. " [3, p.222].
Opinions in both political camps, despite the desire to cooperate, were quite contradictory. Although German political forces hoped to improve the situation of the German population, they were still skeptical about the possibility of getting the Czechs to comply with their political demands. The Czech side, in turn, was concerned that the success of German policy could lead to increased German irredentism in the state.
The event that finally cemented the transition of the majority of German political forces to the position of activism was the elections held on November 15, 1925, which showed the decline of the authority of the socialist parties. The NSDWP (H) won only 24% of German votes in Czechoslovakia and 5.8% of all Czech voters in the state [5, p.863]. Some German parties formed election associations. The largest of these was the bloc of German, Hungarian agrarians and the German Craft Party. This union received the largest number of German votes (571 thousand) [7, p.77].
Representatives of German activism did not initially join the coalition government. However, in March 1926, the Social Democrats and the National Socialists left the government. In October 1926 a new government was formed, headed by A. Shvegla. In this government, ministerial positions went to two representatives of German parties - F. Spini, who belonged to the "Union of Czech Agrarians", and R. Mair-Hart-ing. They received the positions of Ministers of Public Works and Justice, respectively.
This put an end to the unofficial anti-Czechoslovak opposition front of German parties. A number of German political parties switched to activism. After the elections of 1929, the GSDWP(Cz) also took up activist positions. Thus, all the leading German parties in Czechoslovakia - agrarians, Christian Socialists and the NSDRP (H) - found themselves in positions of cooperation with Czechoslovak parties and organizations [6, p.128].
Early parliamentary elections on October 27, 1929 brought victory to the Sudeten German Social Democrats: this party significantly strengthened its position among the German parties. The number of seats of agrarians and Christian Socialists has been significantly reduced. At the same time, the number of National Socialist supporters increased [1, p.35].
The transition to a policy of activism necessitated the creation and adoption of a new party program in the GSDWP(Cz). In 1927, at the Congress of the GSDWP (Cz), the "Main Directions of the Program of Democratic Autonomy in Czechoslovakia" were adopted, which were developed in 1926 [9, p. 171].
The first item of the program was called "National and cultural self-government." According to him, state governance should be organized within national oblasts with full internal self-government. Individual nations in the Czechoslovak Republic, with the aim of national and cultural autonomy, must be constituted as legal corporations. The basis of national affiliation, which had to be recorded in a special cadastre, was the language principle. This section also contained requirements for protection against discrimination on the basis of nationality: "Every nationality must receive guarantees that none of the citizens entered in the relevant language cadastre will be included in another ethnicity. The representative of each nationality should have the right to exercise and protect his or her national needs, to use the institutions of his or her nation and to bring up his or her children in his or her own language. Any task of harm, oppression and discrimination on national grounds, especially in the field of economic relations, must be prosecuted by law "[1, p.78].
The second section of the program was devoted to the organization of school education. A special local school board should be established in areas where schools of several nations were located. In order to monitor the school affairs of individual nations in the state, school districts should be created that would coincide with the political districts. In each such district, where schools of two or more nations are represented, a separate school district council is organized for each nation. In Prague, on equal terms for each nation, a state council was formed, which consisted of elected representatives of local school councils [1, p.55].
It should be noted that in drafting this section of the program, the draft law "On Cultural Self-Government" was used, which was submitted to the parliament in 1925 by the German Social Democrats. Although the project was never approved, both the German Social Democrats and the Czechoslovaks repeatedly returned to it [6, p.275].
A separate, third section of the program presented the language issue. In this regard, the authors of the program demanded special rights for the German population of the republic. In particular, the need for the Germans to learn the Czech language was rejected. Knowledge of this language was considered necessary only for citizens who need it in connection with their official position. According to the program, the languages of national minorities were to become equal in parliamentary activities [1, p.86].
Characterizing this program of the GSDWP(Cz), it should be noted that the program was guided, on the one hand, by democratic principles of protection of nationalities, on the other hand, as in the "Program of Action" of 1919, there was a bias towards national corporatism. The vagueness of the definition of nationality, the inability to refuse to define it violated the democratic rights of citizens. The consequence of the implementation of this program would be the decentralization and disorganization of public administration in the country. Not surprisingly, the program did not receive the support of the leadership of the republic.
However, in comparison with the "Program of Action" of 1919, the "Main Directions" contained certain
concessions to the Czechoslovak authorities. The party leadership abandoned the idea of transforming Czechoslovakia into a second Switzerland. The new program document no longer called for the demilitarization of the country, recognizing the priority of central government over local government. The new program was the basis on which to negotiate. All this contributed to the establishment of mutual understanding between the Czechoslovak and Sudeten German Social Democrats at the Congress of All Socialist Parties of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic in 1928. in Laughter [5, p.86].
Although the Smikhiv Congress limited itself to stating and recognizing the existing national problems and the unity of the multinational Social-Democracy of Czechoslovakia in its quest to resolve them, it marked the beginning of rapprochement between the socialist parties in the Czechoslovak Republic. As a result of the Smikhiv Congress, a joint committee was formed, the task of which was to generalize the ideological positions of individual socialist parties of the country in order to create a general program statement [3, p.215].
Thus, after 1927, a new stage in the history of the GSDWP(Cz) began, the main content of which was a turn from confrontation to cooperation with the Czechoslovak Social Democrats and participation in the coalition government. Despite numerous difficulties, defeats and failures, the party retained its role as the largest political organization that represented the interests of the German population in Czechoslovakia. It is worth noting that the party almost lost its leading position among German voters, as it failed to achieve significant changes in the situation of the German minority in Czechoslovakia.
Despite the spread of activist sentiment among German parties in Czechoslovakia, some right-wing political parties did not support a course of cooperation with the Prague authorities. Among them is GNP(Cz). The frequent change of party leaders, including E. Storch, G. Doberauer, R. Lodgman, and G. Brunar, did not affect its political course at all. The party continued to follow the ideological guidelines of R. Lodgman [8, p.191].
The exception was the period from 1926 to 1928, when one of the leading ideologues of the party, A. Roche, decided to move away from openly opposi-tional, destructive policies of the party and tried to move to a flexible policy of balancing between activism and negativism. However, this attempt failed, and A. Roche left the party. The leadership of the GNP(Cz) returned to the previous negativist policy, which was invariably followed until the party's self-dissolution in 1933. As S. Kretinin noted, "GNP(Cz) was guided by dogmatic theses of the period of struggle for self-determination of 1918-1919. It could not adapt to the new conditions of activity within the Czechoslovak state, gradually lost the trust of voters" [6, p.85].
Another radical right-wing political party was the GNSWP(Cz). In the first half of the 1920's, the party leader G. Knirsh and his entourage considered the possibility of cooperating with the Czechoslovak government. However, the joining of a large number of radical young functionaries did not allow the GNSWP(Cz) to
join the activist parties. At party meetings, statements were made more and more about the need to transform the GNSWP(Cz) into a Nazi movement and join the German Nazis. The GNSWP(Cz) even adopted many principles of organization and symbolism (swastika) of the German Nazis. Nevertheless, by the early 1930s, despite close contacts between the leadership of the German and Sudeten German National Socialists, the party officially rejected the offer of leadership and patronage by the German Nazis [6, p.256].
The policy of Sudeten German activism helped to alleviate ethnic conflicts in the Czechoslovak Republic and to improve the situation of Sudeten Germans. However, there were no significant changes in the political course of the Czechoslovak leadership. The sharp administrative protests of German politicians were caused by the administrative reform of 1927, which divided the German population, dividing it into several regions [2, p.202].
However, it should be noted that the German minority had quite favorable conditions for development in Czechoslovakia. Germans had the opportunity to use their native language in public institutions in areas where they accounted for more than 20% of the population. German was used alongside Czech in the activities of state institutions, in particular in the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czechoslovak Republic. In addition, the number of German schools in Slovakia and Transcarpathia has increased [2, p.287].
The situation of the Sudeten Germans became much more complicated after the beginning of the world economic crisis of 1929-1933. In February 1933, the number of unemployed among the German population reached 250 thousand [6, p.79]. Famine prevailed in many German regions of the Czechoslovak Republic, especially in German Bohemia.
In the eyes of the electorate, the German parties that became part of the government became involved in the policies of the Czechoslovak leadership and thus responsible for the plight of the German minority. The activist policy brought only temporary success, and in the conditions of the economic crisis the interethnic contradictions became much more acute.
The last stage is a period of intensification of Sudeten-German negativism and aggravation of Czech-German relations. It lasted from 1933 until the conclusion of the Munich Agreement in 1938.
Thus, the Sudeten-German party-political development is characterized by multipartyism, a combination of a number of significant political associations and a whole galaxy of small party organizations, the emergence of which is due to a split within large parties. In the Sudetenland, almost all political directions were represented: from left-wing to right-wing. It is worth noting that a characteristic feature of the Sudeten German political parties was their stable national character. None of them, with the exception of the Communists, were members of parties of other nationalities. The main goal of German parties and organizations in Czechoslovakia was not to care for the welfare of the Czechoslovak state, but to defend the rights and interests of the German population in its composition. In this sense, the change in the orientation of the majority of
Sudeten German parties in the 1930s, the expectation of a solution to the German question from the outside, thanks to German intervention, is indicative.
References
1. Broklova E. Politicka kultura nemeckych ak-tivistickych stran v ceskoslovensku 1918-1938. -Praha, 1999. - 144s.
2. Brugel J.W. cesi a Nemci. 1918-1938. -Praha,2006 - 450s.
3. Bobrakov-Tymoshkyn A. Proekt «Chekhoslo-vakyia». Konflykt ydeolohyi v pervoi Chekhoslovat-skoi respublyke (1918-1938). - M., 2008. - 224s
4. Kretynyn S.V. Sudeto-nemetskaia sotsyal-demokratyia: stranytsbi polytycheskoi ystoryy, 19181939 hh. - Voronezh, 1998-204s.
5. Kretynyn S.V. Natsyia y sotsyalyzm: ne-metskyi natsyonalntii vopros y sotsyal-demokratyia. 1918-1939hh. - Voronezh, 2001 - 183s.
6. Kretynyn S.V. Ydeolohyia nemetskoi sotsyal-demokratyy v Chekhoslovatskyy v 1918-1939 hh- Voronezh, 2002 -156 s.
7. Kretynyn S.V. Sudetskye nemtsbi: narod bez rodynti. 1918-1945 - Voronezh, 2000 - 320s.
8. Serapyonova E.P. Cheshskye zemly, chekhy y nemetskyi vopros (1918-1945 hodbi)// Slavian-ovedenye. - 2000. - №5. - S.43-51
9. Chekhyia y Slovakyia v KhKh veke. Ocherky Ystoryy v 2-kh knyhakh. kn. 1 - M., 2005 - 453s.
ВОЕННАЯ СИСТЕМА И ВОЕННОЕ ИСКУССТВО В АЗЕРБАЙДЖАНСКИХ ГОСУДАРСТВАХ (ВТОРАЯ ПОЛОВИНА IX - НАЧАЛА XIII ВВ.)
Алиев Н.
Профессор отдела «Адъюнктура и наука» Военной академии Вооруженных сил Азербайджанской
Республики, капитан 1-го ранга запаса, доктор исторических наук, профессор
MILITARY SYSTEM AND MILITARY ART IN AZERBAIJAN STATES (IX END OF THE CENTURY
- XIII BEGINNING OF THE CENTURY)
Aliyev N.
The War College of the Armed Forces Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor
АННОТАЦИЯ
В представленной статье освящены военно-политические события и войны, происходящие в азербайджанских государствах (вторая половина IX - начала XIII вв.), а также показан уровень развития военного и военно-морского искусства в этот период. На основе исследования широкого круга источников раскрывается военная организация государства Ширваншахов, имевшая сложную структуру и опиравшая на многовековые традиции. В статье анализируются эффективное использования фортификационных сооружений, а также различных способов и методов применения вооружения в период проведении боевых операций. Отдельно проводится исследование роли ширванского флота как отдельного рода вооруженных сил страны, способный проводить самостоятельные и успешные боевые операции на море.
ABSTRACT
In the study below military-political events, warfare, military and military naval art level of Middle Ages Azerbaijani states (IX end of the century - XIII beginning of the century) have been researched. Based on wide sources, structure of military organization of the Shirvan Shahs and its devotion to ancient traditions and customs have been indicated. Researcher also analized defence technology, different weapon types used by the armed forces in battlefield in mountainous areas and the role of armed forces of Shirvan Shahs navy and its independent and successful warfare ability.
Ключевые слова: военное дело и военное искусство, боевая тактика, вооружение и защитные снаряжения, боевая техника, военно-морской флот, парусные и военно-транспортные корабли, города-крепости и фортификационные сооружения.
Keywords: military affaire, military art, war tactics, arms and protective equipment, military navy, sailing and troopships, battle techniques, fortress and fortifications.
Вступление
Период 1Х-Х1 вв. вошел в историю Азербайджана как период феодальной раздробленности. Со второй половины IX века, воспользовавшись ослаблением Арабского халифата, отдельные феодалы возглавили борьбу за независимость. На территории Азербайджана в этот период образуются новые феодальные государства - Ширваншахов (правя-
щие династии Мазъядидов (861-1027 гг.) и Кесра-нидов (1027-1382 гг.)), Саджидов (879-930 гг.), Са-ларидов (941-первая половина XI в.), Шеддадидов Аррана (971-1086 гг.), Раввадидов (879-1054 гг.). Возникновение этих государств означало не только возрождение государственности, но и способствовало экономическому, культурному возрождению, расцвету военного дела. Эти государства вели не только оборонительные войны с многочисленными
