Czech and Slovak perceptions and historiography of the first Czechoslovak land reform

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István Gaucsík

Abstract

Study's attention is focused on the first Czechoslovak land reform, specifically on two problem areas. Firstly, it deals with the land reform policy in the first Czechoslovak Republic. The author identifies the political and social drivers and objectives and attempts to draw up a balance sheet of successes and failures. The second approach takes stock of the interpretations, theses and clichés of Czech and Slovak historiography on land reform. The author places particular emphasis on the analysis of the discourse in Marxist historiography, which viewed the land reform of the first Czechoslovak Republic as a historical subject, but this perspective was not without ideological overtones, national political arguments, or even victorious rhetoric. The new post-1989 thematisation of social and economic history is mainly linked to Czech historiography (the position of the aristocracy and large estates, the role of land reform in economic policy and inter-state relations, legal and financial aspects). In Slovak historiography, the nationalist discourse is sometimes still alive, while the social-historical orientation is less prevalent and the study of elite groups (especially the aristocracy) is relegated to the background.

Article Details

How to Cite
[1]
Gaucsík, I. 2024. Czech and Slovak perceptions and historiography of the first Czechoslovak land reform. East Central European Historical Studies. 2, 2 (Nov. 2024), 137–155. DOI:https://doi.org/10.46438/ECEHS.2024.2.137.
Section
Studies