The
Czechs (aka Bohemians) and the Slovaks were two distinct groups of people. The
ancestors of both groups were members of Slavic tribes that came to Europe
during the great migrations of the 5th Century. The tribes settled in different
areas and, for each group, lived their own distinctive history and developed
their own culture and traditions. At the beginning of the 20th Century, both
groups were living in areas that were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
During World War I, the Czechs and the Slovaks provided help to the Allied
Nations. Following the war, in 1918, there was a dissolution of the empire and
they were rewarded (for their war-assistance) with a country of their own. The
new country was formed from the Bohemia, Slovakia, Selesia, Moravia, and
Carpathian Ruthenia parts of the former empire. It was called Czecho-Slovakia
(with a hyphen), because the majority of its citzens were either Czechs or
Slovaks. When the new country was first formed, porcelain/pottery makers used
marks on their products that indicated that they were made in Czecho-Slovakia
(with a hyphen). In 1920, the name Czechoslovakia (without a hyphen) was first
introduced. Between 1920 and 1938, the hyphenated name was (however) sometimes
still used. After 1938, the country was never again formally known by the name
of Czecho-Slovakia (with a hyphen). During World War II, from 1939 to 1945,
Slovakia functioned as an autonomous state and the Czech territories were
invaded by (and become a part of) Nazi Germany. After the war, the Soviet Union
and the Communist Party took over the country and reunited the Czech and Slovak
territories. The Soviets did not allow the use of the hyphenated
Czecho-Slovakia name. In 1948, the Soviets changed the country’s name to the
Czechoslovak Republic. When a new Constitution was written in 1960, the name
was again changed, to the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. After the collapse
of Communism, in 1989, the country’s formal name became the Czech and Slovak
Federal Republic. In 1993, the federal republic was split into two different
countries. The countries were (and still are) called the Czech Republic and the
Slovak Republic/Slovakia.
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