CSEMADOK, also written Csemadok, is a cultural society of ethnic Hungarians in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. CSEMADOK was formed on March 5, 1949 in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

as a part of the Czechoslovak National Front, an umbrella statewide organization. The name was abbreviation for Hungarian ''Csehszlovákiai Magyar Dolgozók Kultúregyesülete'' (see below for name changes, in Slovak: '' Kultúrny zväz maďarských pracujúcich v Československu'',

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''Czechoslovak Hungarian Workers' Cultural Association''). It was one of the few ethnic based organizations in Czechoslovakia. The organization was reported to have 43,000 members in 1953 and almost 50,000 in 1955. The society organized cultural events, lectures and supported theater-, song- and dance groups. Since 1951 it published a monthly "Fáklya" (''The Torch''), then, since December 1956, a weekly "A Hét" (''The Week''). During the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

the leadership supported position of Czechoslovak government toward the events; this resulted in decline of members (33,000 reported in 1957). In 1968, during the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Sec ...

period, CSEMADOK supported the liberalization policies, tried to change into a political interest group and asked for more rights and privileges for the ethnic Hungarians. After the suppression of Prague Spring politics leadership of CSEMADOK was purged. After

dissolution of Czechoslovakia The dissolution of Czechoslovakia ( cs, Rozdělení Československa, sk, Rozdelenie Česko-Slovenska) took effect on December 31, 1992, and was the self-determined split of the federal republic of Czechoslovakia into the independent countries o ...

(end of 1992) the organisation changed its name to ''Szlovákiai Magyar Társadalmi és Közmüvelödési Szövetség – Csemadok'' (Slovak: ''Maďarský kultúrny a spoločenský zväz na Slovensku'', English: ''Hungarian Social and Cultural Association of Slovakia''). Toward the end of the 1990s the organisation, dependent on money from the Slovak government, almost collapsed as the government radically restricted the financial support.

Names

Fro

* 1949–1966: Csehszlovákiai Magyar Dolgozók Kultúregyesülete * 1966–1969: Csehszlovákiai Magyar Dolgozók Kulturális Szövetsége * 1969–1971: Csehszlovákiai Magyar Társadalmi és Kulturális Szövetség * 1971–1990: Csehszlovákiai Magyar Dolgozók Kulturális Szövetsége * 1990–1993: Csehszlovákiai Magyarok Demokratikus Szövetsége * 1993– : Szlovákiai Magyar Társadalmi és Közművelődési Szövetség – Csemadok

Notes

External links

*
Csemadok website
Hungarians in Slovakia Organizations based in Czechoslovakia Organisations based in Slovakia Czechoslovakia–Hungary relations {{Slovakia-stub

Names

See also

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External links