Slovakia

UNTIL 1993, WHEN THE SECOND SLOVAK REPUBLIC came into existence, Slovaks faced not just a question of survival but also one of identity. It was not that they did not know who they were, or that they did not understand their history, but rather that the rest of the world knew precious little about them.' They had inhabited states that challenged their existence as a nation. When the century began, they lived in Hungary, their land was called Felviddk (Upper Hungary), and their population was subjected to an assimilation process known as Magyarization. Less than two decades later, in 1918, as a result of the Great War and the breakup of Austria-Hungary, they became part of a new state called Czecho-Slovakia. The spelling with the hyphen is important because it recognized their national existence. However, within two years the hyphen had disappeared, and most citizens of the country were identi-