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Eva Krekovicová, Zuzana Panczová
Although the self-image of the "denationalized" Slovak can be found in
Cernokñaënik already during the period of V. Paulíny-Tóth s editorship, in a cartoon
from 1863 (ill. 212), this was not yet the figure of the “Slovak” madarén. It depicted
the son of a poor cobbler, dressed in expensive bourgeois dress, embarrassed by his
origins. The picture emphasizes the social rather than the ethnic dimension of the
“renegade” (odrodilec).
The image of the Slovak madarén appears later. It is closely tied to the hetero¬
image of the Magyar conceived as “enemy of the Slovak nation.” Like the image
of the Jewish madarén, it appeared in Cernoknazník in 1876. The madarón in this
case represented a specific character of the cultural, scientific, and political scene in
Hungary in that period: nobles whose families came from the territory of Slovakia
(as could be seen in their families" names) but who actively supported the unity of
the Hungarian nation. For it was during that period that, with the support of the
Hungarian government, there began to take shape the institutional bases for real¬
izing the project of a unified Hungarian political nation. After the closing of Matica
slovenskd, the beginning of the 1880s saw the foundation of cultural-educational
associations in the territories of non-Magyar ethnic groups. These associations made
it one of their goals to promote Hungarian patriotism and, often, to accelerate
ethnic assimilation. In Slovakia such associations were active in various individ¬
ual counties, but the most prominent association, the so-called Felvidéki Magyar
Közművelődési Egyesület (the Upper-Hungarian Magyar Educational Association),
or FMKE, founded in 1882, was active throughout the ten counties of Upper Hun¬
gary. Its chief role was to engage Slovak youth, for example, by organizing day-care
centers where the Hungarian language was spoken, which was meant to aid in as¬
similating children of Slovak origin. Another action was singled out for especially
sharp criticism in Slovak public discourse as well as abroad: the humanitarian trans¬
fer of poor children from Upper Hungary to Magyar families in the Lower Land,”
which was interpreted as a most outrageous manifestation of forced Magyarization.
The year 1885 saw the foundation of the Magyarországi Tót Közművelődési Egyesület
(the Hungarian-Nationwide Slovak Educational Association), or MTKE, which
was meant as a substitute for the scientific, cultural, and educational activity of the
banned Matica slovenská but was based on the idea of a unified Hungarian politi¬
cal nation and funded in part from public fundraising efforts originally meant for
Matica slovenská (Podrimavsky, Hapák 1992: 622-623).
The foundation and operation of these associations met with heavy resistance
on the part of Slovak national activists, as could be seen in Cernoknaznik in a cari¬
cature of “Femka” as a witch or a hideous woman devouring Slovaks and their chil¬
dren (ill. 213). The aforementioned representatives of these associations, members
of noble families from Upper Hungary, were “demasked” not only by Slovakizing
2 Lower Land, Dolnd zem in Slovak, Alföld in Hungarian—a region south of central Hungary or,
from the perspective of Slovakia, the general area downstream and south of Slovakia (translator's note).