The 19th century history of Slovakia and the Slovaks in Polish research of the last thirty years

Abstract

The history of Slovakia and the Slovaks has for many years been perceived in Polish historiography as a component of larger wholes: the history of Hungary or the history of Czechoslovakia. For this reason, Polish historians usually paid little attention to the phenomenon of the national development of the Slovaks in the 19th century. This situation began to change only from the 1990s, when numerous studies finally appeared seeking to see the history of Slovakia and the Slovaks as a separate historical issue from the histories of the Hungarians and especially the Czechs. This text is aimed at presenting the achievements of Polish scholars over the last three decades with regard to the history of Slovakia and the Slovaks in the 19th century. The article describes the most important Polish synthetic studies, collective studies, and finally monographic works on the history of Slovakia and Slovak culture. Attention was also paid to the most important scientific centres in Poland, which initiate research in the field of Slovak culture and history. Despite the growing interest in Poland's southern neighbour in recent years, significant shortcomings in Polish historiography are still visible. The article also attempts to draw attention to the desirable perspectives for further research in Poland.