Tomáš Masaryk

President of Czechoslovakia (1918-1935)

• Born: March 7, 1850
• Birthplace: Near Göding, Moravia, Austrian Empire (now Hodonín, Czechoslovakia)
• Died: September 14, 1937
• Place of death: Lány, Czechoslovakia (now in Czech Republic)

Masaryk was a professor of philosophy, an author, and a statesman who was the principal founder and first president of Czechoslovakia. He secured the support of the Western liberal powers during World War I for the Czechoslovakian cause and was awarded numerous honors including a doctor of civil law degree from Oxford University in 1928.

Early Life

Tomáš Masaryk (TOH-mahsh MAHS-uh-rihk) was the son of a Slovak father and a German-speaking Czech mother. His homeland was part of Austria-Hungary, and his father was employed as a coachman on an imperial estate. Because of the low social position of his parents, it was difficult for him to receive an education. His father encouraged him to enter a trade, and for a while he worked as a blacksmith. He was finally able to attend school in Brno and completed his secondary education in Vienna in 1872. He supported himself by tutoring wealthy students, and in appreciation their parents helped him to further his education. He entered the University of Vienna and completed his doctorate in 1876. Following his graduation, he spent a year studying at the University of Leipzig, where he met an American student of music, Charlotte Garrigue. They were married in New York in 1878. She was a major influence in his life, causing him to have a greater understanding of international affairs than most Czech leaders of his day. To symbolize the closeness of this relationship, Masaryk adopted his wife’s maiden name and thus became known to the world as Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. Charlotte also influenced his religious views. He had already left the Roman Catholic faith in which he was reared, and now he adopted many of the Unitarian views of his wife. His marriage not only changed his religious outlook but also led him to adopt English as his third language after Czech and German.

In 1879, Masaryk became a lecturer at the University of Vienna, and in 1882 he was appointed professor of philosophy at the Czech university in Prague. His position gave him the opportunity to become one of the leaders of the rising nationalist movement among his people. Masaryk’s mind had a practical bent, causing him to use his philosophic training to try to solve the problems of life and to work toward a more just society. He had little interest in problems of epistemology or cosmology. In the early stages of his career, he reacted against German philosophy, accepting British empiricism and logical positivism. His philosophical position can be described as realism, an outlook that accepts not only reason but also the will, the emotions, and the senses. His main interest, however, began to concentrate on sociology and the philosophy of history. These preoccupations were reflected in his book Der Selbstmord als sociale Massenerscheinung der modernen Civilisation (1881; Suicide and the Meaning of Civilization , 1970) and several other works on the Czech Reformation and the early nineteenth century Czech nationalist revival.

Life’s Work

Masaryk became one of the most popular teachers in the university at Prague, and he used his academic role to attack political and social injustices. As he elaborated his views they came to include a search for scientific truth, a pragmatic approach to life, a rejection of force and extremism in human affairs, and an emphasis on morality. As the author of numerous books and as a muckraking journalist, he entered into debates on the important social issues of the day.

Masaryk demonstrated his devotion to his ideals by exposing two ostensibly early Czech poems that were regarded as the Slavic counterparts to the Nibelungenlied but were in reality early nineteenth century forgeries. He also challenged the anti-Semitism of his homeland by proving the innocence of Leopold Hilsner, a Jew accused of the ritual murder of a Christian in 1899. Despite his involvement in these practical issues, Masaryk found time to publish several volumes including Česká otázka; Snahy a tužby národního obrození (1895; the Czech question), Die philosophischen und sociologischen Grundlagen des Marxismus (1899; the philosophical and sociological foundation of Marxism), and Russland und Europa (1913; The Spirit of Russia , 1919). These works assigned a key role in the improvement of the human condition to the Czech nation through the transmission of its ancient ideals as embodied in the Hussites and the Bohemian Brethren. Such an outlook, Masaryk believed, could be an effective antidote to the materialism, selfishness, and alienation of modern society. His writings and teachings were meant to educate the Czech people in their own tradition. As he interpreted their history, it was an enduring defense of democracy in church and state.

Masaryk believed that Hussite ideals would give his people an orientation toward the ethical and democratic outlook of Western civilization, and he was suspicious of the Pan-Slavism and communist ideology emanating from Russia. His book on Russia dealt with the philosophy, religion, and literature of his great Eastern neighbor. He was extremely critical of Russia, characterizing the land as preserving the childhood of Europe through the mass of ignorant peasants. Russian nobles were no better, he stated, because they were half-educated, immoral, boorish, cruel, and reactionary. Their example had set the pattern for the entire society. Those such as the Marxists who wanted revolution were suggesting a cure little better than the illness. On occasion he would refer to the Bolsheviks as the “new Jesuits” because of their opposition to religion and accepted standards of Christian morality.

In 1890, Masaryk entered politics as a member of the young Czech Party, and in 1891 he was elected to the Austrian Reichsrat (parliament). His disagreements with some of the emotional outbursts of his fellow party members led him to resign in 1893. In March, 1900, he started the Realist Party, which more accurately expressed his aim for reform within the imperial framework. He was returned to the Reichsrat in 1907 and served until 1914. As a member of the Reichsrat, he represented the leftist position among the Slavs and tried to achieve greater autonomy for them within the empire. He also wished to end the alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary and to stop the imperialistic policies of Austria in the Balkans. The tension between the empire and the Slavs in the Balkans led to the Agram (now Zagreb) Treason Trials in 1908, during which Masaryk exposed the weak case of the Austrians against a group of Serbs. He proved that the government’s charges rested on forged documents. As a result, the Viennese historian Heinrich Friedjung was sued for libel. Masaryk demonstrated that Friedjung had accepted documents in good faith that were fabricated in the office of the Austrian foreign ministry. His fearless stand for the truth in this case further enhanced his worldwide reputation.

The outbreak of World War I was a decisive event in Masaryk’s life. Austrian involvement in the conflict led him to believe that the time had come to work for an independent Czech nation. He left Austria in December, 1914, and lived for the next few years in various places in Western Europe and the United States including Geneva, Paris, London, Chicago, and Washington. In 1915, he founded the Czechoslovak Council with Edvard Beneš and Milan Stefanik. The council had two aims: first, to bring together various groups of Czech and Slovak émigrés and, second, to secure Allied recognition of the council as the representative of the Czechoslovakian people. More than 120,000 Czech troops fighting on various fronts for the Allied cause recognized the council as their government.

Relying on his reputation and the aid of such eminent authorities on Eastern Europe as Ernest Dennis, Wickham Steed, and R. W. Seton-Watson, Masaryk began a propaganda campaign to convince the Allies of the necessity of breaking up Austria-Hungary so that the various people of that polyglot empire would be able to control their own destinies. As part of this program of self-determination, Masaryk wanted to establish a democratic Czech and Slovak confederation along with a number of new Eastern European states founded on ethnic principles that would act as a bulwark against German imperialism. He also tried to focus Western attention on the courageous activities of the Czech legion fighting on the crumbling eastern front. Between May, 1917, and March, 1918, he was in Russia trying to work out an alliance with the provincial government that had come to power following the overthrow of the czarist regime. After the Bolshevik Revolution, he left Russia and went to the United States. The large Czech and Slovak population greeted him warmly. These immigrants were an important factor in his success because of their political and economic support for his organization. Also, Masaryk met with President Woodrow Wilson and with Secretary Robert Lansing and succeeded in securing the Lansing Declaration of May, 1918, which recognized the independence of Czechoslovakia. In addition, the new nation’s existence was made one of Wilson’s Fourteen Points, an important document on which the peace settlement was based. After receiving the firm support of the American government, Masaryk came to terms with the Slovak immigrants in the United States though the Pittsburgh Pact of May 30, 1918. This document promised a large measure of home rule to the Slovak element of Czechoslovakia and was to lead to considerable tension in the future.

The new republic was proclaimed in October, 1918, and Masaryk returned to Prague as president on December 21, 1918. He was reelected to the presidency in 1920, 1927, and 1934. The country had problems not only with relations between the Czechs and the Slovaks but also with the large German and Hungarian population. Masaryk did his best to respect the rights of the minorities under Czech control, but he was forced to deal with economic problems caused by the Great Depression and with a growing Nazi movement among the German citizens. After a prolonged illness, he resigned in 1935 and died at his residence near Lány in 1937.

Significance

The life and ideals of Tomáš Masaryk were shaped by the age in which he lived. The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were a period when liberalism and nationalism triumphed. Consequently Masaryk’s desire for political freedom and national independence reflect this background. Not only was Masaryk a scholar and theorist but also he was a man able to apply his ideas to practical politics. During the years in which he served as president of Czechoslovakia, although his position was constitutionally weak he brought peace and stability to the land and guided it in a democratic direction. He also established friendly relations with Austria and Germany and to a certain extent even with Poland and Hungary. His humanitarian outlook on social and political problems, combined with his humble yet dignified manner, endeared him to his fellow countrymen and to many people in the Western liberal democracies. Of all the new nations created by the Peace of Versailles, Czechoslovakia came closest to reflecting the hope of a just world envisioned by Woodrow Wilson. Much of the credit for this achievement belongs to Masaryk.

During the closing years of his life, however, Masaryk was troubled about the future of his country. His philosophic training and democratic outlook led him to realize the danger to Central Europe because of the rise of the Nazi movement in Germany. The heir to his political legacy, Beneš and Masaryk’s son Jan were to be confronted with the ravages of their homeland brought on by World War II and the subsequent Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.

Bibliography

Bridges, Peter. “Playwrites, Presidents, and Prague.” Virginia Quarterly Review 79, no. 1 (Winter, 2003): 97. Discusses Masaryk’s academic life, career in politics, and relationships with playwrights Karel Čapek and Václav Havel.

Čapek, Karel. Masaryk on Life and Thought. Translated by M. Weatherall and R. Weatherall. London: Allen & Unwin, 1938. A volume ofČapek’s interviews with Masaryk. This one is concerned with his thoughts rather than his actions and includes chapters on epistemology, metaphysics, religion, the problems of culture in the modern world, politics, and nationalism. As with the volume on Masaryk’s life, this one is scrupulously careful in presenting an accurate presentation of the material.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. President Masaryk Tells His Story. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1935. Masaryk spent several weeks withČapek over the period of many years while the president recounted his life. He reminisced about his childhood, education, and the tumultuous events involved in the creation of Czechoslovakia.

Selver, Paul. Masaryk: A Biography. London: Michael Joseph, 1940. A general study of Masaryk’s life based on excellent sources. Contains material that had never been available in English before. Selver has written an excellent book that is notable for the frequent quotations from Masaryk.

Seton-Watson, R. W. A History of the Czechs and Slovaks. London: Hutchinson, 1943. This general history of the Czechoslovakian people is a thoughtful introduction in English to many of the problems with which Masaryk was forced to deal. Written by one of the first professors of Czechoslovak studies at the University of London and an acquaintance of Masaryk.

Thomson, S. Harrison. Czechoslovakia in European History. Reprint. Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, 1965. A scholarly, readable volume that makes the story of Masaryk’s nation accessible to English students. Thomson has provided his readers with the main themes of Czech history in a sympathetic yet fair manner. Probably the finest one-volume introduction to the land of Masaryk.

Zeman, Zbynek. The Masaryks: The Making of Czechoslovakia. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1976. This dual biography of Tomáš and Jan Masaryk gives a variety of interpretations of the legacy of these two individuals. Some looked on Tomáš Masaryk as a “philosopher-king,” while others regarded him as a “scholar-saint,” but in reality his legacy was more ambiguous. Zeman discusses some of the Marxist criticisms of Masaryk, among them that he plotted against Vladimir Ilich Lenin and Joseph Stalin, was supported by international bankers, and his presidency was a very expensive affair.