Negotiating Jewish Belonging in Postwar Slovakia (1945–48)

After the Second World War, the Czechoslovak state redrew the boundaries around its national/ethnic community, defining anew who belonged and who did not. This process primarily involved the redefinition of the criteria for citizenship. Jewish survivors were among those who negotiated for the recognition of their citizenship. Since the Czechoslovak government did not grant Jews legal status as a national minority, Jewish survivors could be freely classified as Slovaks, Czechs, Germans, or Magyars. The latter two translated into refusal of citizenship and expulsion. This article discusses how Magyar-speaking Jews in Slovakia struggled to secure Czechoslovak citizenship through dialogue and conflict between their representatives, local administrations, and the central government.