Editing Slovakia (section)

=== Czechoslovak independence (1918–1939) ===
{{Main|Dissolution of Austria-Hungary|Czechoslovakia|First Czechoslovak Republic|Munich Agreement|Second Czechoslovak Republic}}
{{See also|Slovak Soviet Republic|Autonomous Land of Slovakia}}

[[File:Masaryk Independence Hall2.jpg|thumb|[[Czechoslovak declaration of independence]] by [[Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk]] in the United States, 1918]]

On 18 October 1918, [[Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk]], [[Milan Rastislav Štefánik]] and [[Edvard Beneš]] declared in [[Washington, D.C.]] the [[Czechoslovak declaration of independence|independence]] for the territories of [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]], [[Margraviate of Moravia|Moravia]], [[Silesia]], [[Upper Hungary]] and [[Carpathian Ruthenia]] from the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]] and proclaimed a common state, [[First Czechoslovak Republic|Czechoslovakia]]. 

During the chaos following the break-up of Austria-Hungary, Czechoslovakia was formed with numerous [[Czechs]], [[German people|Germans]], [[Slovaks]], [[Hungarians]] and [[Ruthenians]]. The borders were set by the [[Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919)|Treaty of Saint Germain]] in 1919 and [[Treaty of Trianon]] in 1920. By the treaties following the World War I, Czechoslovakia emerged as a sovereign European state.

[[File:Signature de la Paix avec la Hongrie, en tête Benárd Ágost hongrois(passant devant un piquet d'honneur à Versailles).jpg|thumb|right|The Hungarian delegation arriving to [[Grand Trianon|Grand Trianon Palace]] at [[Versailles, Yvelines|Versailles]], to sign [[Treaty of Trianon]], that cede territory of Slovakia ([[Upper Hungary]]) to Czechoslovakia after [[World War I]], 1920]]

During the [[Interwar period]], democratic Czechoslovakia was allied with France, and also with [[Romania]] and [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] ([[Little Entente]]); however, the [[Locarno Treaties]] of 1925 left East European security open. Both Czechs and Slovaks enjoyed a period of relative prosperity. There was progress in not only the development of the country's economy but also culture and educational opportunities. Yet the [[Great Depression]] caused a sharp economic downturn, followed by political disruption and insecurity in Europe.<ref>J.&nbsp;V.&nbsp;Polisencky, ''History of Czechoslovakia in Outline'' (Prague: Bohemia International 1947) at 113–114.</ref>

In the 1930s, Czechoslovakia came under continuous pressure from the [[Revanchism|revanchist]] governments of Germany, Hungary and Poland who used the aggrieved minorities in the country as a useful vehicle. Revision of the borders was called for, as Czechs constituted only 43% of the population. Eventually, this pressure led to the [[Munich Agreement]] of September 1938, which allowed the majority ethnic Germans in the [[Sudetenland]], borderlands of Czechoslovakia, to join with Germany. The remaining minorities stepped up their pressures for autonomy and the State became federalised, with Diets in Slovakia and Ruthenia. The remainder of Czechoslovakia was renamed Czecho-Slovakia and promised a greater degree of Slovak political autonomy. This, however, failed to materialise.<ref>''Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919–1939'' edited by Professor E. L. Woodward, Roham Butler, M.A., and [[Margaret Lambert]], PhD., Third Series, vol.iv, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1951, pps:94–99: 'Memorandum on the Present Political Situation in Slovakia'.</ref> Parts of southern and eastern Slovakia were also reclaimed by Hungary at the [[First Vienna Award]] of November 1938.