Title: Ladislav Novomeský v čele Slovenské akademie věd a umění (1950–1951)
(Ladislav Novomeský as the Head of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Arts (1950–1951))
Author: DOSKOČIL, Zdeněk
DOI: 10.17846/SHN.2017.21.2.348-365
Source: Studia Historica Nitriensia, 2017, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 348-365
Abstract: In spring 1950 poet Ladislav Novomeský was accused of the so-called Slovak bourgeois nationalism. After his forced self-criticism, Novomeský was removed from his position of Minister of Education and had to leave the top politics. The leaders of the Communist Party of Slovakia appointed him as the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Arts’ president. Ladislav Novomeský performed this role during the months before his arrest in February 1951. In this essay, we analyse the poet’s inconsistent activities during this period. As president, Novomeský’s effort was to turn the Academy into top scientific institution in Slovakia, but he was also anxious to keep it in line with the political and ideological course of the Communist Party. The poet’s schizophrenic attitude during the management of Academy can be illustrated by various examples, e.g. changes in organizational structure, introduction of censorship, collaboration with the Slovak Matica, publishing of the edition of Hviezdoslav’s Library, his own work, and so on.
Keywords: Ladislav Novomeský; Slovakia; science; Slovak Academy of Sciences and Arts; Communist Party of Slovakia; Stalinism; Slovak Bourgeois Nationalism;
Language: CZECH
Publication order reference: Akademie věd České republiky, Historický ústav AV ČR, v. v. i., Oddělení biografických studií, Prosecká 809/76, 190 00 Praha 9, Czech Republic, mail: doskocil@hiu.cas.cz