With the fall of Austria-Hungary in late 1918, theFirst Czechoslovak Republic received recognition from theAllied powers and Masaryk was recognised as head of its provisional government. He was formally elected president in November, and was reelected three times subsequently. Masaryk presided over a period of stability as Czechoslovakia emerged as a strong democratic state. He resigned from office in 1935 due to old age, and was succeeded by Beneš. He retired to the village ofLány and died two years later at the age of 87.
His father, Jozef Masárik, was Slovak, born inKopčany,Slovakia. Jozef Masárik was a carter and, later, the steward and coachman at the imperial estate in the nearby town of Hodonín. Tomáš's mother, Teresie Masaryková (née Kropáčková), was aMoravian ofSlavic origin who received a German education. A cook at the estate, she met Masárik and they married on 15 August 1849.
After grammar school inBrno andVienna from 1865[4] to 1872, Masaryk attended theUniversity of Vienna and was a student ofFranz Brentano.[5] He received his Ph.D. from the university in 1876 and completed hishabilitation thesis,Der Selbstmord als soziale Massenerscheinung der modernen Civilisation (Suicide as a Social Mass Phenomenon of Modern Civilization), there in 1879.[5] From 1876 to 1879, Masaryk studied inLeipzig withWilhelm Wundt andEdmund Husserl.[6] He marriedCharlotte Garrigue, whom he had met while a student in Leipzig, on 15 March 1878. They lived in Vienna until 1881, when they moved toPrague.
Masaryk was appointed professor of philosophy at the Czech Charles-Ferdinand University,the Czech-language part ofCharles University, in 1882. He foundedAthenaeum, a magazine devoted to Czech culture and science, the following year.[7]Athenaeum, edited by Jan Otto, was first published on 15 October 1883.
Masaryk's students includedEdward Benes and Emanuel Chalupny.[8]
Masaryk was greatly influenced by the 19th-century cult of science.[10] The 19th century was an age of tremendous scientific and technological advances, and as such scientists enjoyed immense prestige. Masaryk believed that social problems and political conflicts were the results of ignorance, and that provided that one undertook a proper "scientific" approach to studying the underlying causes it would be possible to devise the correct solutions.[10] As such, Masaryk saw his role as an educator who would enlighten the public from its ignorance and apathy.[10]
Masaryk served in theReichsrat from 1891 to 1893 with theYoung Czech Party and from 1907 to 1914 in theCzech Progressive Party, which he had founded in 1900. At that time, he was not yet campaigning for Czech and Slovak independence from Austria-Hungary. Masaryk helpedHinko Hinković defend theCroat-Serb Coalition during their 1909 Viennapolitical trial; its members were sentenced to a total of over 150 years in prison, with a number of death sentences.
WhenWorld War I broke out in 1914, Masaryk concluded that the best course was to seek independence for Czechs and Slovaks from Austria-Hungary. He went into exile in December 1914 with his daughter, Olga, staying in several places in Western Europe, theRussian Empire, theUnited States andJapan. Masaryk began organizing Czechs and Slovaks outside Austria-Hungary during his exile, establishing contacts which would be crucial to Czechoslovak independence. He delivered lectures and wrote several articles and memoranda supporting the Czechoslovak cause. Masaryk was pivotal in establishing theCzechoslovak Legion in Russia as an effective fighting force on the Allied side during World War I, when he held a Serbian passport.[11] In 1915 he was one of the first staff members of theSchool of Slavonic and East European Studies (now part ofUniversity College London), where the student society and senior common room are named after him. Masaryk became professor of Slavic Research atKing's College London, lecturing on the problem of small nations. In January 1917, supported byNorman Hapgood, T. G. Masaryk wrote the first memorandum to presidentWilson, concerning the need for the creation of an independent Czechoslovak state.[12]
On 5 August 1914, the Russian High Command authorized the formation of a battalion recruited from Czechs and Slovaks in Russia. The unit went to the front in October 1914 and was attached to the Russian Third Army.
From its start, Masaryk wanted to develop the legion from a battalion to a formidable military formation. To do so, however, he realized that he would need to recruit Czech and Slovak prisoners of war (POWs) in Russian camps. In late 1914, Russian military authorities permitted the legion to enlist Czech and Slovak POWs from the Austro-Hungarian army; the order was rescinded in a few weeks, however, because of opposition from other areas of the Russian government. Despite continuing efforts to persuade the Russian authorities to change their minds, the Czechs and Slovaks were officially barred from recruiting POWs until the summer of 1917.[citation needed] Under these conditions, the Czechoslovak armed unit in Russia grew slowly from 1914 to 1917. Masaryk preferred to concentrate on elites rather than public opinion.[15] On 19 October 1915, Masaryk gave the inaugural address at the newly opened School of Slavonic Studies atKing's College London on "The Problem of Small Nations in the European Crisis", arguing that on both moral and practical grounds that the United Kingdom should support the independence efforts of "small" nations such as the Czechs.[15] Shortly afterwards, Masaryk crossed the English Channel to go to Paris, where he delivered a speech in French at theInstitut d'études slaves of the Sorbonne on "Les Slaves parmi les nations" ("The Slavs Among the Nations"), receiving what was described as a "vigorous applause".[15]
During the war, Masaryk's intelligence network of Czech revolutionaries provided critical intelligence to the allies. His European network worked with an American counterespionage network of nearly 80 members, headed byEmanuel Viktor Voska (includingG. W. Williams). Voska and his network, who (asHabsburg subjects) were presumed to be German supporters, spied on German and Austrian diplomats. Among other achievements, the intelligence from these networks was critical in uncovering theHindu–German Conspiracy inSan Francisco.[16][17][18][19] Masaryk began teaching at London University in October 1915. He published "Racial Problems in Hungary", with ideas about Czechoslovak independence. In 1916, Masaryk went toFrance to convince the French government of the necessity of dismantling Austria-Hungary. He consulted with his friend professorPavel Miliukov, a leading Russian historian and one of the leaders of the Kadet Party, to introduce him to various members of Russian high society.[15]
In early 1916, the Czechs and Slovaks in Russian service were reorganized as the First Czecho-Slovak Rifle Regiment.[citation needed] In a rare attempt to influence public opinion, Masaryk opened up an office on Piccadilly Circus in London whose exterior was covered with pro-Czechoslovak slogans and maps with the intention of attracting the interest of those walking by.[15] One of Masaryk's most important British friends was the journalistWickham Steed who wrote articles in the newspapers urging British support for Czechoslovakia.[20] Another important British contract for Masaryk was the historianRobert Seton-Watson, who also wrote widely in the British press urging British support for the "submerged" nations of the Austrian empire.[21] After the 1917February Revolution he proceeded to Russia to help organize theCzechoslovak Legion, a group dedicated to Slavic resistance to the Austrians. Miliukov became the new Russian foreign minister in the Provisional government, and proved very sympathetic towards the idea of creating Czechoslovakia. After the Czechoslovak troops' performance in July 1917 at theBattle of Zborov (when they overran Austrian trenches), the Russian provisional government granted Masaryk and the Czechoslovak National Council permission to recruit and mobilize Czech and Slovak volunteers from the POW camps. Later that summer a fourth regiment was added to the brigade, which was renamed the First Division of the Czechoslovak Corps in Russia (Československý sbor na Rusi, also known as the Czechoslovak Legion – Československá legie). A second division of four regiments was added to the legion in October 1917, raising its strength to about 40,000 by 1918.
Masaryk travelled to the United States in 1918, where he convinced PresidentWoodrow Wilson of the righteousness of his cause. On 5 May 1918, over 150,000Chicagoans filled the streets to welcome him; Chicago was the centre of Czechoslovak immigration to the United States, and the city's reception echoed his earlier visits to the city and his visiting professorship at theUniversity of Chicago in 1902 (Masaryk had lectured at the university in 1902 and 1907). He also had strong links to the United States, with his marriage to an American citizen and his friendship with Chicago industrialistCharles R. Crane, who had Masaryk invited to the University of Chicago and introduced to the highest political circles (including Wilson). Except for president Wilson and the secretary of the stateRobert Lansing this wasRay Stannard Baker, W. Phillips, Polk, Long, Lane, D. F. Houston,William Wiseman,Harry Pratt Judson and the French ambassadorJean Jules Jusserand. AndBernard Baruch, Vance McCormick,Edward N. Hurley, Samuel M. Vauclain,Colonel House too. At the Chicago meeting on 8 October 1918, Chicago industrialistSamuel Insull introduced him as the president of the future Czechoslovak Republic de facto and mentioned his legions.[22] On 18 October 1918 he submitted to president Thomas Woodrow Wilson "Washington Declaration" (Czechoslovak declaration of independence) created with the help of Masaryk American friends (Louis Brandeis, Ira Bennett,Gutzon Borglum,Franklin K. Lane, Edward House,Herbert Adolphus Miller,Charles W. Nichols,Robert M. Calfee,Frank E. J. Warrick,George W. Stearn and CzechJaroslav Císař) as the basic document for the foundation of a new independent Czechoslovak state. Speaking on 26 October 1918 as head of theMid-European Union in Philadelphia, Masaryk called for the independence of Czechoslovaks and the other oppressed peoples of central Europe.
Masaryk's bookSvětová revoluce [cs] was paradigmatic of central European thought as he identified the Western powers as the "bearers of higher humanitarian principles and democracy" without regard to non-European peoples enduring colonialism orsegregation in the United States. Czech historianPavel Barša [cs] writes that "he implicitly identified humanity with the peoples of European stock".[23]
Masaryk believed thatJews controlled the press and helped the nascent state ofCzechoslovakia during its struggle for independence. Czech historianJan Láníček comments that "The great philosopher and humanist Masaryk was still using the same anti-Semitic trope found at the bottom of all anti-Jewish accusations."[24]
Masaryk and his daughter, Olga, returning from exile on 21 December 1918Portrait of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, 1919.VisitingkibbutzBeit Alfa,Mandatory Palestine, 1924Masaryk at Prague Old Town Square in 1932
With the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, the Allies recognized Masaryk as head of the provisional Czechoslovak government. On 14 November of that year, he waselected president of Czechoslovakia by the National Assembly in Prague while he was in New York. On 22 December, Masaryk publicly denounced the Germans in Czechoslovakia as settlers and colonists.[25]
Masaryk was re-elected three times: in May1920,1927, and1934. Normally, a president was limited to two consecutive terms by the1920 constitution, but a one-time provision allowed the first president–Masaryk–to run for an unlimited number of terms.
On paper, Masaryk had a somewhat limited role; the framers of the constitution intended to create a parliamentary system in which theprime minister and cabinet held actual power. However, a complex system ofproportional representation made it all but impossible for one party to win a majority. Usually, ten or more parties received the 2.6 per cent of votes needed for seats in the National Assembly. With so many parties represented, no party even approached the 151 seats needed for a majority; indeed, no party ever won more than 25 per cent of the vote. These factors resulted in frequent changes of government; Masaryk's tenure saw ten cabinets headed by nine statesmen. Under the circumstances, Masaryk's presence gave Czechoslovakia a large measure of stability. This stability, combined with his domestic and international prestige, gave Masaryk's presidency more power and influence than the framers of the constitution intended.
He used his authority in Czechoslovakia to create theHrad (the Castle), an extensive, informal political network. Under Masaryk's watch, Czechoslovakia became the strongest democracy in Central Europe. Masaryk's status as a Protestant leading a mainly Catholic nation led to criticism, as did his promotion of the 15th-century proto-ProtestantJan Hus as a symbol of Czech nationalism.[26]
There were founded "The Masaryk Academy of Labour", for the scientific study of scientific management too, with the Masaryk's supporting inPrague in1918 and Masaryk University inBrno.[27]
Masaryk visited France, Belgium, England, Egypt and theMandate for Palestine in 1923 and 1927. WithHerbert Hoover, he sponsored the first Prague International Management Congress, a July 1924 gathering of 120 global labour experts (of which 60 were from theUnited States), organized with Masaryk Academy of Labour.[28] After the rise ofAdolf Hitler, Masaryk was one of the first political figures in Europe to voice concern.
Masaryk resigned from office on 14 December 1935, because of old age and poor health, and was succeeded byEdvard Beneš.
Masaryk died less than two years after leaving office, at the age of 87, inLány on 14 September 1937. He was buried next to his wife in a plot at Lány cemetery, where later the remains ofJan Masaryk andAlice Masaryková were laid to rest.
Masaryk did not live to see theMunich Agreement or the Nazi occupation of his country, and was known as the Grand (Great) Old Man of Europe.
Grave of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and his family inLány cemetery
Masaryk's unique combination of intellectual and political authority has made him a figure of interest to sociology and philosophy, especially within Czechoslovakia, where his significance has been analysed in depth by philosophers such asJan Patočka (1991 monograph),Milan Machovec (1968 monograph) and others.
As thefounding father of Czechoslovakia, Masaryk remains revered by Czechs and Slovaks.
Masaryk University inBrno, founded in 1919 as Czechoslovakia's second university, was named after him when it was founded; after 30 years as UniverzitaJana Evangelisty Purkyně v Brně, it was renamed for Masaryk in 1990.
Commemorations of Masaryk have been held annually in the Lány cemetery on his birthday and day of death (7 March and 14 September) since 1989.
The Czechoslovak, now CzechOrder of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, established in 1990, is anhonour awarded to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to humanity, democracy and human rights.
He is commemorated by a number of statues, busts, plaques, coins and postage stamps. Although most are in or of the Czech Republic andSlovakia, Masaryk has astatue onEmbassy Row inWashington, D.C., and in theMidway Plaisance park inChicago and is memorialized inSan Francisco's Golden Gate Parkrose garden.[29] A plaque with a portrait of Masaryk is on the wall of a hotel in Rakhiv,Ukraine, where he reportedly resided from 1917 to 1918, and a bust was erected in 2002 on Zakhysnykiv Ukrainy Square (former Druzhby Narodiv Square) inUzhhorod, Ukraine.
Avenida Presidente Masaryk (President Masaryk Avenue) is a main thoroughfare in the exclusivePolanco neighbourhood ofMexico City. In 1999 the city ofPrague donated a statue[30] of Masaryk to Mexico City, one of the two originals made when the statue for thePrague Castle was being prepared for the 150th anniversary of his birth.[31]
In 1960 the U.S. government issued two postage stamps in honor of Tomáš Masaryk -- part of the Champion of Liberty postage issues
In Israel, Masaryk is considered an important figure and a national friend. A village was named after him -Kibbutz Kfar Masaryk near Haifa, which was largely founded by Jewish immigrants from Czechoslovakia. One of the main squares inTel Aviv isMasaryk Square (he had visited the city in 1927). InHaifa, one of the junctions in the city was named after him as well. Many cities in Israel named streets after his name, includingJerusalem,Petach Tikva,Netanya,Nahariya and others.[33] A Masaryk forest was planted in the Western Galilee.[34]
Motto "Fear not, and steal not" at a demonstration in Prague, 2011
Masaryk's motto was "Fear not, and steal not" (Czech:Nebát se a nekrást). A philosopher and an outspokenrationalist andhumanist, he emphasised practicalethics reflecting the influence of Anglo-Saxon philosophers, French philosophy and—in particular—the work of 18th-century German philosopherJohann Gottfried Herder, who is considered the founder of nationalism. Masaryk was critical ofGerman idealism andMarxism.[39]
Masaryk marriedCharlotte Garrigue in 1878, and took her family name as his middle name. They met inLeipzig, Germany, and became engaged in 1877. Garrigue was born inBrooklyn to a Protestant family with FrenchHuguenots among their ancestors. She became fluent in Czech and published articles in a Czech magazine.[40] Hardships during the World War I took their toll, and she died in 1923. Their son,Jan, was a Czechoslovak ambassador in London,foreign minister in the Czechoslovak government-in-exile (1940–1945) and in the governments from 1945 to 1948. They had four other children: Herbert,Alice, Eleanor, and Olga.
He wrote several books in Czech, includingThe Czech Question (1895),The Problems of Small Nations in the European Crisis (1915),The New Europe (1917), andThe World Revolution (Svĕtová revoluce; 1925) translated into English asThe Making of a State (1927).Karel Čapek wrote a series of articles,Hovory s T.G.M. ("Conversations with T.G.M."), which were later collected as Masaryk'sautobiography.
(1885)Základové konkretné logiky (Foundations of Concrete logic). Prague. (German:Versuch einer concreten Logik), Vienna, 1887).
(1898)Otázka sociální (The Social Question). Prague. (German:Die philosophischen und sociologischen Grundlagen des Marxismus), Vienna, 1899).
(1913)Russland und Europa (Russia and Europe). Jena, Germany. (The Spirit of Russia, tr.Eden andCedar Paul, London, 1919).
(1918)The New Europe, London.
(1919)The Spirit of Russia: Studies in History, Literature and Philosophy, trans. by Paul, Eden and Cedar, 2 vols. (London: Allen & Unwin, 1919)[2] Vol. 1,[3] Vol. 2.
(1922)The Slavs After the War, London.
(1925)Světová revoluce (World revolution). Prague. (The Making of a State, tr. H. W. Steed, London, 1927;Making of a State, tr. Howard Fertig, 1970.)
^abZumr, Joseph. 1998. "Masaryk, Tomáš Garrigue (1850–1937)". pp. 165–66 in theRoutledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. Edward Craig. London: Routledge.
^Čapek, Karel. 1995 [1935–1938]. Talks with T.G. Masaryk, tr.Michael Henry Heim. North Haven, CT: Catbird Press, p. 33
^Lepka, Karel (2015).Mathematics in T. G. Masaryk journal Athenaeum. Copenhagen: Danish school of education. pp. 749–59.ISBN978-87-7684-737-1.
^Preclík, Vratislav (2019).Masaryk a legie (in Czech). Paris Karviná in association with the Masaryk Democratic Movement, Prague. pp. 12–70,101–102,124–125,128–129, 132,140–148,184–190.ISBN978-80-87173-47-3.
^Preclík, Vratislav (2019).Masaryk a legie (in Czech). Paris Karviná in association with the Masaryk Democratic Movement, Prague. pp. 87–89,124–128,140–148,184–190.ISBN978-80-87173-47-3.
^Preclík, Vratislav: K stému výročí vzniku Masarykovy akademie práce (One hundred years of the Masaryk Academy of Labour), in Strojař (The Machinist): Journal of MA, časopis Masarykovy akademie práce, January–June 2020, year XXIX., issue 1, 2., ISSN 1213-0591, registrace Ministerstva kultury ČR E13559, pp. 2–20
^Proceedings from 1.PIMCO "Encyclopedy of Performance", 2500 pages (3 volumes "Man", "Production", "Business") Masaryk Academy of Labour, Prague 1924 - 1926
^http://www.mzv.cz/public/60/43/b3/144368_14893_odhaleni.jpg Photo of the unveiling by the President of the City Government Rosario Robles and the Lord Mayor of the City of Prague Jan Kasl
^Masaryk, T. G.: Otázka sociální, Praha 1896, German 1898 Otázka sociální: základy marxismu filosofické a sociologické I. a II., MÚ AV ČR, Praha 2000 (6. č. vyd.).
^see publications: Charlotta Garrigue Masaryková (Charlie Masaryková): „O Bedřichu Smetanovi“ (About B. Smetana), články v Naší době 1893 (Articles in Journal „Naše doba“ 1893), Epilogue Miloslav Malý, Masarykovo demokratické hnutí (issued by Masaryk's Democratic Movement, Prague, 2-nd edition), Praha 1993
Čapek, Karel. (1931–35).Hovory s T. G. Masarykem [Conversations with T. G. Masaryk]. Prague. (English translations:President Masaryk Tells His Story, tr.M. and R. Weatherall, London, 1934; andMasaryk on Thought and Life, London, 1938)
Preclík, Vratislav (2019).Masaryk a legie (in Czech). Paris Karviná in association with the Masaryk Democratic Movement, Prague. p. 219.ISBN978-80-87173-47-3.
Voska, E.V; Irwin, W (1940).Spy and Counterspy. New York. Doubleday, Doran & Co.
Walzel, Vladimir S.; Polak, Frantisek; Solar, Jiri (1960).T. G. Masaryk – Champion of Liberty. Research and Studies Center of CFTUF, New York.
Wein, Martin.A History of Czechs and Jews: A Slavic Jerusalem. London: Routledge, 2015, 40-65 specifically on T. G. Masaryk and Jews[4]
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