Carpathian Association
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The Hungarian Carpathian Association (UKV, Hungarian Magyarországi Kárpátegylet , MKE, Slovak Uhorský karpatský spolok; after 1918 only Carpathian Association ) was a mountain association. It was founded in 1873. The development of the Tatra Mountains was his main goal. Its members (mostly Germans and Hungarians) built paths, markings and shelters in the area of the High Tatras . In 1945 the association was forcibly dissolved and the association's property was expropriated.
history
prehistory
As in the 19th century in almost all countries of Europe began the industrialization, which to a rapid growth of cities led, grew in the city people the desire for open air and to the health benefits, which offered a stay in nature. In addition to the water, it was above all the mountains that exerted a great attraction on the people of that time. In part, it was the pioneering spirit that drove the first tourists and mountaineers to hitherto unknown and unexplored peaks.
And so, in the middle of the 19th century, various mountain associations came into being, whose primary goal was to promote tourism in the mountains. This movement, which mainly originated in England , concentrated primarily on the highest and therefore most important mountain range in Europe, the Alps . It is therefore understandable that the first tourist associations concentrated on the Alps. The oldest clubs still in existence today are:
- 1857 Alpine Club London
- 1862 Austrian Alpine Association Vienna (later DÖAV, today ÖAV)
- 1863 Swiss Alpine Club and Club Alpino Italiano
- 1869 German Alpine Club Munich (later DÖAV, today DAV)
- 1873 Hungarian Carpathian Union (UKV)
It is remarkable that the Carpathian Association was the first mountain association that did not deal with the Alps.
founding
Already at the end of the 1860s there were various attempts, mainly by the Salzburg doctor Heinrich Wallmann and the alpinist Gustav Jäger (* 1815, † 1875) from Villach , to found a tourist association in the Carpathian Mountains . However, these attempts failed because the response remained very low. Another appeal by a professor at the Evangelical Lyceum in Kesmark , Julius (Gyula) Zimmermann, was unsuccessful.
It was not until May 1873 that k. k. Major a. D. Anton Döller , an enthusiastic alpinist and great friend of the High Tatras , to set up an organizing committee for the establishment of the Carpathian Association. Members of this committee were:
- Egyed Berzeviczy
- Nándor Czerépy
- Anton Döller
- Hugo Payer
- Friedrich Scholz
- Samuel Weber
After a relatively short preparation period, the "Hungarian Carpathian Association" was founded on August 10, 1873 in a constituent general assembly in Alt-Schmecks .
Alt-Schmecks became known for its excellent sourling , which in the past was called "Schlagendorfer Sauerbrunnen". This whole area belonged in the 18th century. The family of Count Csáky. On the advice of the evangelical pastor of Großschlagendorf , who was one of the best experts on the High Tatras at that time, Count Stephan Csáky left a hunting lodge, two, in the area in 1793 - which at that time was only known under the German name "Schmecks" Build houses and a chapel, which formed the beginning of what is probably the most famous high mountain health resort in the southern part of the High Tatras. In 1833 one of his successors, Count Carl Csáky, rented the entire area to the Georgenberger innkeeper Johann Georg Rainer, who helped the settlement flourish.
When the association was founded, “Alt-Schmecks” was already a well-known figure in the entire High Tatras.
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The founding of the association sparked great enthusiasm in circles of the Spiš bourgeoisie, who were interested in the mountains , but also elsewhere in old Hungary . Immediately in the founding phase - after the statutes of the association were drawn up - 250 members joined the association, who went to work with unheard of optimism and idealism. The membership fees were initially 3 and later 2 guilders , which could not be described as cheap for the time. The Carpathian Association was open to everyone, but from the beginning the supporting nations of the Association were Hungarians and Germans. The proportion of Slovaks was relatively small, making up only 10 to 15% of the total number of members.
aims
The main goals of the Hungarian Carpathian Union (UKV) were:
- Construction of shelters and mountain huts
- Expansion and marking of hiking trails
- Realization of the establishment of a club museum
- Development of the High Tatras for tourism
Mountain huts
Ten shelters were built in the first ten years. So on the initiative of the KV u. a. the following shelters or huts:
- Caramel tower house
- Pink shelter on the comb
- Hunfalvy Hut (Felkaer See)
- Refuge at the Drei Schlagendorfer Lakes
- Majláth hut on Lake Popper
- Hut in the Mengsdorf Valley
Hiking trails
Even before the founding of the Carpathian Association, there were numerous paths in the Tatras, which were mainly used by the herdsmen. However, these paths were mostly in a very bad condition and did not meet the requirements of the association. And so the systematic development of trails for tourists and mountain hikers in some Tatra valleys began. The most important are listed below:
- Kohlbachtal ( Slov. Malá Studená dolina) : The expansion of the path from the Rainer Hut to the Spiš Five Lakes (Slov. Pät spišských plies) began as early as 1875 . Between 1875 and 1877 this path was marked in color and benches were set up.
- Felka Valley: 1888 Expansion of the path to Botzdorfer See. Likewise expansion of a path next to the Felkaer Bach to Felkaer See. 1892 new secured path from the Long Lake to the Polish Ridge, which was exemplary.
- Mengsdorfer Tal: Expansion of a path that dates back to the 1850s and leads from the Mlynica valley into the Mengsdorfer valley. In 1883 a path to the Hinze lakes was expanded. 1886 a bridle path on the Osterwa. 1891 a road on the banks of the Popper Bach to Popper See.
- Weißwassertal: 1878 construction of a path to the Green Lake. 1880 New construction of a path between the Greens and the Weisse See and other similar projects in this area
The greatest challenge for the association, however, was the expansion of a belt road, also known as the “Klothilden-Weg” in the early days. The path was named after Archduchess Klothilde of Austria (* 1846, † 1927), at a board meeting of the Carpathian Association held on August 5, 1888. Klothilde was the wife of Archduke Joseph , who was the Imperial Palatine of Hungary at this time . The Archduchess also made a significant financial contribution to the expansion of this path. Since the Tschirmer See could not be reached directly from Schmecks, it was decided to establish a connection between the two places, so in 1877 the "upper path" was knocked out and marked as a path in the forest. Not satisfied with some steep sections, the “lower path” was built in 1879, which was in operation for many years and which could well be classified within the framework of the association's goals of “facilitating travel to the High Tatras”. The more favorable financial possibilities, which occurred at the beginning of the "Leutschauer Epoch" (1884-1891), led to the decision to have an even better alignment, which should be roughly in the middle of the "upper" and the "lower" path, and to build this connection as a 2 m wide bridle path. In 1886 this path was halfway finished when a further decision, which was entering an even more complex stage, was made to complete the bridle path as a 4 m wide driveway. In 1887 this piece was ceremoniously opened after it had devoured all of the KV's income and reserves. The remodeling of the already existing 2 m wide section and the expansion of a path from Tatra-Lomnitz to Höhlenhain, which began in 1885 (there was also no direct connection) , remained open . The unproductive toll and 5000 guilders subsidy from the government could not bring the project, which had become "a bottomless barrel", to a conclusion, so that in 1891 the road was finally incorporated into the county road network. The information about the costs vary widely. The KV was the pioneer for this infrastructure serving to promote tourism, but which actually fell into the field of public road construction. As a result, he had to postpone most of the other projects for years. Sums of up to 30,000 guilders are mentioned. This number is probably a bit too high, since according to other representations the Carpathian Association spent only 24,000 guilders in the first 20 years of its activity for the entire road construction. These are considerable sums when you consider that in the first period only 5000 guilders were spent on hut construction and the total cultural area amounted to about 41,000 guilders.
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Museum of the Carpathian Union
Immediately after the founding of the Carpathian Association, it was decided to build a museum in the foreseeable future. The association bought a considerable part of the natural science collections of the Evangelical Lyceum A. B. von Kesmark, which were to form the first base of the collections. An appeal was launched as early as 1876, calling for the donation of other suitable exhibits. This appeal had a great response. The number of exhibits increased so much that the originally planned space became too small. In addition, it was found that Kesmark fell behind due to the lack of connection to the Kaschau-Oderberger railway line (1871) and was no longer the focus of tourist interest. Kesmark had to surrender its rank to the rapidly developing German village , which now had a rail connection. The question therefore arose as to where the new museum should be built. There were two applicants: Deutschendorf and Felka.
David Husz as a respected and wealthy citizen of Deutschendorf provided a piece of land free of charge if the museum in Deutschendorf was to be built. He also promised annual financial support of 200 guilders for the museum. And so in 1881 a majority decided to build the museum in Deutschendorf. A state lottery was held and the winnings were used to finance the construction. And so in 1885 the construction of the museum could begin. The ceremonial opening and handover took place on August 21, 1886.
The local patriotism of the residents of Felka was not satisfied with this solution. The pharmacist Wilhelm Aurel Scherfel, who was also an excellent botanist and connoisseur of flora in the Tatra Mountains, built a private museum next to his house in 1882, in which he mainly showed exhibits of flora. He successfully propagated the exhibits from his museum in the local and specialist press. Despite several moves, the museum existed until 1926; after that most of the z. Some very valuable botanical exhibits were lost or stolen and the museum ceased to exist.
In connection with the expulsion of the Germans in 1945, the Carpathian Association was banned and its property was liquidated. The Carpathian Museum in Deutschendorf and its collections were expropriated in 1945. The entire property became state property of Czechoslovakia . In 1946 it was renamed “Tatranské Múzeum” (Tatra Museum). In 1958 the stocks were split up. All exhibits specific to the Tatra Mountains have been outsourced and housed in a newly founded museum of the "Tatranský Národný Park" (TANAP, German Tatra National Park ) in Tatra Lomnitz . The old museum in Deutschendorf was renamed “Podtatranské Múzeum” (“Museum under the Tatras”). The files of the KV, its writings and almost all archival materials are now in the possession of these two museums, provided they have not been lost or stolen.
Development of the High Tatras for tourism
When the association was founded, there were almost no tourists in the High Tatras. Most of the areas were undeveloped, there were no tourist routes, and access to this area was a relatively difficult and arduous proposition. The few who got lost here were mostly naturalists or travelers looking for adventure.
The construction of the railway line from Kosice to Oderberg was of decisive importance for the development of the High Tatras for tourism and tourism. At the beginning of the 19th century in the vicinity of the Tatra Mountains was a widespread, densely forested area, which formed the watershed between the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. The Sillein-Deutschendorf section was put into operation on December 7, 1871. At that time, the railway stations in Deutschendorf were built on this route, and at an altitude of 925 m above sea level, the highest railway station in today's Slovakia "Hochwald", which has been called Tschirm since 1880. Today these two stations are the most important tourist starting points in the High Tatras.
Before the UKV was founded in 1873, there were only two noteworthy recreational areas here, the Alt-Schmecks climatic health resort, which was founded in 1797, and the Husz-Park in Deutschendorf, which was established in 1868.
New settlements in the High Tatras
The other localities in the Tatras, which are important today, were founded later. The most important localities are listed below:
- 1875 Neu-Schmecks ( Nový Smokovec )
- 1876 the summer resort " Tschirmer See "
- 1881 Weszterheim ( Tatranská Polianka )
- 1881 Unter-Schmecks ( Dolný Smokovec )
- 1884 Matlarenau ( Tatranské Matliare )
- 1891 Hochhagi
- 1892 Tatra Lomnica
The establishment of a cog railway in 1896 from Tschirm to Lake Tschirmer made a significant contribution to promoting tourism. The construction of the electric train between Deutschendorf and Alt-Schmecks in 1908, which brought tourists straight to the heart of the mountains, made a further contribution. This route was then extended to Tatra Lomnica in 1911, which meant a further promotion of tourist traffic. While only about 1300 guests visited the High Tatras in the founding year of the UKV (1873), their number rose to over 10,000 by 1892. The number of guest rooms also developed similarly. In 1873, 221 guest rooms were registered, while twenty years later (1892) the number of guest rooms had risen to 1,433.
Organization and sections of the association
During the time of the Danube Monarchy , the association had the following chairmen, who were called "Preses":
- 1873–1874 Gusztáv Görgey
- 1874-1878 Egyed Berzeviczy
- 1878–1879 József Szentiványi
- 1880-1891 Count Albin Csáky
- 1891-1896 Vilmos Migazzy
- 1896 and 1911 Nikolaus Fischer
- 1897–1906 Aurel Münnich
- 1907–1911 Géza Salomon
- 1911-1919 Count Sándor Teleki
The history of UCT during this period can be divided into three periods:
- 1873–1883 First Kesmarker period (eight huts built). The "" soul of the association "at this time was Major retired Anton Döller .
- 1884–1891 Leutschau period (construction of the “Gürtelstrasse”). The most important organizers of the association at this time were professors Samuel Roth and Franz Dénes.
- 1891–1918 Zips-Neudorfer period (construction of the "Migazzy Weg: Altschmecks - Kämmchen").
In 1877 the UKV decided to found individual sections. And so the following sections of the association came into being in the initial period of the UKV: In 1877 the UKV decided to found individual sections. And so the following sections of the association came into being in the initial period of the UKV:
| founding year | section | Remarks |
| 1877 (1880) | First Budapest Section (Első Budapesti osztály) | |
| 1877 | Beskydy Section (Beskid - osztály) | In 1881 he joined the "Eastern Carpathians" section |
| 1880 | Mármarosch Section (Mármarosi osztály) | s. O. |
| 1881 | Section Rosenau / Gömör (Rozsnyói osztály) | only of short life |
| 1882 | Eastern Carpathian Section (Keleti - Kárpátok osztálya) | |
| 1882 | Section Zipser Neudorf (Iglói oztálya) | |
| 1882 | Section Sitno (Szittnya - osztály) | Joined MTE in 1891 *) |
| 1884 | Section of Liptov (Liptói osztály) | |
| 1886 | Tatra Section (Tátra - osztály) | was dissolved in 1890 |
| 1887 | Section Matra (Mátra - osztály) | Left the UKV in 1891 *) |
| 1887 | Eisenburg Section (Vasmegyei osztály) | Joined MTE in 1891 *) |
| 1887 | Section (Zipser) Magura (Magura - Javorinai osztály) | |
| 1887 | Silesian Section (Sziléziai osztály) | |
| 1889 | New Budapest Section (Újabb Budapesti osztály) | Dissolved in 1891 *) |
| 1889 | Section Göllnitz (Göllnitzvölgyi osztály) | |
| 1889 | Section Altsohl (Zólyomi osztály) | |
| 1890 | Lower Danube Section (Aldunai osztály) | |
| 1890 | Section Fiume (Fiumei osztály) | Resigned in 1891 *) |
| 1891 | Section Eger - Bükk (Egri - -oszály Bükk) |
(*) In 1890 there were disagreements within the association. Some nationally Hungarian-minded members wish to move the headquarters of the association to Budapest , which they hope will have a better effect and agitation. When this project fails and is rejected in the General Assembly of 1891, some sections split off and leave the UKV. And so in 1892 five sections (Budapest, Mátra, Eisenburg, Szittnya and Fiume) left the UKV under the leadership of the Budapest section and in the same year founded the “Magyar Turista Egyesület” MTE (“Hungarian Tourist Association”). Baron Loránd Eötvös becomes the first chairman of this newly founded association . The UKV will lose around 2000 members as a result.
After chairman Nikolaus Fischer and Count Wilhelm Miggazy had seen a certain consolidation and calming of the situation, the two initially hostile associations realized that they could only achieve the best for the High Tatras and the other mountains of old Hungary in "fraternal harmony". In the High Tatras the work was divided; so the MTE received the Small Kohlbachtal as a working area, while the UKV should be active in the other areas of the High Tatras.
The "Slovak Section" of Liptov, founded on April 29, 1884, is remarkable . This section, consisting mainly of Slovaks, worked with great vigor in the area of the Low Tatras . The “ Demänova Tal ” refuge was built on their initiative . The Magyarization policy of this time prevented a development of this section similar to the other Hungarian-run associations.
UKV activity until 1918
From 1874 the association published the Carpathian Yearbook as a regular publication on association life. For the first ten years, the yearbooks appeared in one volume in two languages: left page in Hungarian, right page in German. Only later were the yearbooks divided into four volumes and two separate editions were published annually in German and Hungarian. A total of 44 volumes had appeared up to 1917. The percentage of German copies (based on the total circulation) moved around 30% for years, only to reach around 40% later. The increase in the German share (from around 7,000 total circulation) is also due to the members of the very active German-speaking section of Silesia. Around 1900 there were around 700 members. These figures are seen as an indication of the linguistic “sympathizers” who are not necessarily attributable to a national distribution of membership of the UCT. The association was also very active in the field of journalism. One of the best Tatra connoisseurs of the time, Karl Kolbenheyer , wrote the first Tatra hiking guide first in German and later in Hungarian translation. This guide is so popular that it has reached ten editions in a very short time. From 1876 he also published the first very good Tatra maps on a scale of 1: 100,000.
In addition, numerous publications, panorama pictures and souvenir albums appear. In 1895 the High Tatras were re-mapped, which enabled more precise maps to be issued. The association supports all scientific research into the mountains and also takes care of nature conservation issues. Immediately after the foundation of the association, a guide order for mountain guides was issued. As early as 1875, 37 official mountain guides were registered (27 Germans and 10 Slovaks). A short time later, leaders in need are given financial support. During this time, the voluntary mountain rescue service (mountain guides) in the Tatras, TÖMB (“Tátrai Önkéntes Mentő Bizottság”) was founded.
Javorina affair
The so-called "Javorina Affair" formed a special chapter in the annals of the Carpathian Society.
Javorina (the outdated and no longer used German name is “Urngarten”), a village in the northern part of the High Tatras, belonged to the Horváth de Palocsa family in the mid-18th century, who operated a blast furnace and hammer mill there. In 1864 the property came into the possession of the Salomon family by inheritance, who sold it to the Prussian nobleman Christian Kraft Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Öhringen for half a million guilders in 1879 . The prince used the 80 km² property as a hunting ground , which he cherished and cared for with considerable financial commitment. So that his game would not be disturbed in the hunting area, he forbade all access in 1880 and also closed it to the Carpathian Association. He also closed all the guest rooms in Javorina in order not to be disturbed in his hunting lodge, which he had built in 1893 according to plans by M. Majunke. This started a dispute between the princes and the KV that lasted for decades. Due to the denial of entry, a large part of the northern mountain valleys had become inaccessible to the CT, which caused a lot of irritation and anger. It was not until 1902 (after 22 years!) That the KV succeeded in at least clearing the routes over the Kopa Pass (Slov. Kopské sedlo ), the Saddle Pass and the Polish Ridge (Slovene Polský hrebeň) "temporarily" and "without obligation". After the First World War, the prince got into financial difficulties and the rule was "forcibly administered" by the newly founded Czechoslovak state. In 1926, the prince and his son, Prince August, died, but managed to have the administration lifted and the rule sold to the state. And so the entire property finally became the property of the Czechoslovak state on January 1, 1936.
Club problems and quarrels
The day-to-day problems that UCT had to contend with were varied in nature. Again and again there were differences of opinion between the headquarters and the individual sections. From today's perspective, they are often negligible little things, sometimes more weighty matters.
Again and again one heard of " Pan-Slavic agitation "; so was z. For example, the Slovak mountain guide Michal Huszka from Tschirm was released from the UKV because he described the book “Tatry” written by Karol Droža in the Slovak language (published by Karol Slava in Rosenberg ) as a commendable work. The book "Agitation against the Hungarian Nation" is accused from the official side.
But there was also friction with other sections. On the eve of the First World War, the board of the UKV felt compelled to take repeated action against the Budapesti Egyetemi Turista Egyesület ( BETE, German Budapest Academic Tourist Club ), as this was in its publications "Gerlachfalvi-csúcs" (German Gerlsdorfer tip ) and not like it was prescribed, "Ferenc József-csúcs" (German "Franz Joseph-Spitze") used. The BETE was founded in 1892 as a section of the MTE. Numerous important mountaineers belonged to him, including the brothers Roman and Gyula Komarnicki . In 1909 the BETE became independent, because once again the “young” were dissatisfied with the “old”. One of the victims of this generation change was the “fall” of the well-deserved Dr. Edmund Téry , who headed the MTE from 1907 to 1910.
With the end of the First World War came the associated collapse of the Danube monarchy. The work of the old UCT came to a standstill until it had to be stopped entirely. For two years the survival of the club was on the brink. The various new rulers had no interest in the continued existence of this traditional mountain sports club, which now extended to the countries of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Germany and Poland.
Carpathian Association between 1919 and 1945
The establishment of the First Czechoslovak Republic (ČSR) in 1918, as already mentioned above, initially completely paralyzed the work of the association. The shelters, mountain huts and other property of the association were confiscated, the responsible officials dismissed. The Prague government intended to completely dissolve the Hungarian Carpathian Association , as it would allegedly hinder the work of the newly founded Club československých turistů (KČST, German "Club of Czechoslovak Tourists"). The use of German and Hungarian names in the Tatra Mountains was officially prohibited. It is thanks to the declaration of solidarity by leading members of the Polskie Towarzystwo Tatrzańskie (PTT, German "Polish Tatraverein") that the Carpathian Association was not dissolved at this point in time.
This enabled the association to be reconstituted after the First World War. The Carpathian Union (without adjective) (KV) emerged from the remains of the old, broken up Hungarian Carpathian Union . It is thanks to the tireless efforts of the leading members of the association (who mostly remained in the newly founded ČSR) that the work of the association was able to continue to some extent. The remaining members of the association knew that the association now had to work under changed conditions and that it was in a national minority position. Nevertheless, it was possible to revive the sections that remained in Slovakia and even to found new sections. In the early 1920s, the Silesia section of the old UKV (based in Breslau, which was still German at the time ) returned to the Carpathian Association. The sections in the area of post-war Hungary were not allowed to be reintegrated into the Carpathian Society. The Prague government refused to give its consent. For this purpose, two new sections from Germany were added ( Saxony and Brandenburg ), so that the association was able to show a total of 23 branch associations during this time.
The chairmen of the Karpathenverein (KV) were in the interwar period:
- 1920–1933 Michael Guhr
- 1933–1939 Nikolaus Szontágh the Elder J.
- 1939–1940 Tibor Braisz ( appointed "Government Commissioner for the KV" under pressure from the Third Reich )
- 1940–1944 Géza Klein
The interwar history of the Carpathian Union can in principle be divided into two periods:
- 1920 to 1939 Second Kesmarker period (period of reconstruction). During this time, the active members and secretaries of the association J. A. Hefty and Artur Wiegand stood out.
- 1939 to 1945 final phase and dissolution . After the end of the Second World War and the forcible expulsion of the Germans (and partly also Hungarians) from Slovakia after 1945, the association ceased to exist.
In the second half of the 1920s and early 1930s the club developed a very lively and lively activity. Ultimately, the same objectives were pursued as with UCT. The association's work was limited to the area of the High Tatras and their surroundings ( Liptov Alps , Low Tatras). The association was organized in the "Main Association of German Mountain and Hiking Associations in Czechoslovakia" and in the "Main Association of German Winter Sports Associations in Czechoslovakia", whose supraregional representation of interests formed a considerable support for the association. In 1935 the KV already had around 4,500 members (headquarters over 1,800, sections around 2,600 people). The majority were members of German and Hungarian ethnicity. The cooperation of the KV with the KČST and the Czechoslovak authorities was vital. He continued to maintain friendly contacts with the Polish PTT, just like the UKV at the time.
This positive development of the KV took place against the background of repeatedly recurring nationalistic "nudges", although the KV tried very hard to cooperate and integrate into the KČST. Outside of favors, Miloš Janoška was elected honorary member of the KV. He had earned such an honor as a persistent and outstanding pioneer of Slovak mountaineering. It was pronounced in 1923 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the KV. In the same year an article in the “Karpathen-Post” caused domestic political excitement and sharp reproaches from the KČST to the KV, because it wrote about the “tourist catch” of the KČST. Then Dr. Michael Guhr (at that time President of the KV) was forced to distance himself from the article, rejecting the offensive attacks on his person.
But that was also a sign that one could again pursue a somewhat livelier journalistic activity. After 1918 the association work of the KV was almost completely paralyzed, so that no association magazine could appear for three years. Michael Sauter agreed to publish the magazine "Touristik und Alpinismus" in his publishing house.
From 1924 the KV was able to publish a club magazine on its own. It bears the now expanded title of "Tourism, Alpinism, Winter Sports". Between 1934 and 1944 the monthly magazine was then published in a different format (DIN A5 format) with the title “The Carpathians”. The last previous Carpathian yearbook of the expired UKV was published in 1917; it was not reissued in the interwar period. It was not until 1950 that the “Carpathian Yearbook ” was revived in Stuttgart and since then it has been published regularly as the yearbook of Germans expelled and resettled from Slovakia. In the interwar period, the KV also issued some Tatra guides (Komarnicki, Hefty, Vigyázó) and maps.
In the years between the two world wars, the association's work was continued in line with the ideals of the "old" Hungarian Carpathian Association. This positive development was stopped by the emergence of National Socialism and the seizure of power by Adolf Hitler . The question was put to the Carpathian Society as to whether it would like to join the "Volksgemeinschaft". Since around 30 percent of the association's members were Hungarians and the association also had numerous Slovaks and Jews in its ranks, this request was rejected by almost all sections. The pressure from the German party grew steadily. Nikolaus Szontagh the Elder J. resigned from his chairmanship in 1939 on the grounds that he could no longer lead the association in this situation.
Several assemblies and extraordinary meetings followed, some of which were tumultuous. Finally a new statute was passed under "Invocation of the New Spirit". At the same time the " German Gymnastics and Sports Association " was designated as the umbrella organization. Despite the efforts of circles influenced by the National Socialists, a complete "conformity" of the association failed. In 1943 the "ethnic group leader" Franz Karmasin lamented the "liberally disintegrated family stock corporation of the rich". The last club chairman, Géza Klein, felt compelled to apologize to the "Volksgruppenführer" for the "confusing and one-sided" presentation of the club's history. From this point on, the association was forced to give up its authenticity and acted as a "vicarious agent" for the German party.
In this situation the Carpathian Society was coming to an end. With the year 1945 came the end of the Second World War, the resurrection of Czechoslovakia and the expulsion of the Germans based on the Beneš decrees . The activity of the Carpathian Association ceased, its assets and real estate were confiscated. The memory of its great times and the important achievements of this traditional association, which represented a milestone in the development of the High Tatras, has unfortunately largely been forgotten today.
(The source material for this article comes from the book by Anton Klipp: Die Hohe Tatra und der Karpathenverein, p. 177ff; see bibliography)
Publications of the association
After the First World War, the following magazines were published by the Carpathian Association as a replacement for the Carpathian Yearbooks .
- 1918–1923 "Tourism and Alpinism"
- 1924–1933 “Tourism, alpinism, winter sports” ; The place of publication was Kesmark
- 1934–1944 "The Carpathians"
literature
- Ernst Hochberger: High Tatras, mountains of northern Slovakia. 4 volumes. Sinn / Hessen 1992, ISBN 3-921888-06-9 .
- Anton Klipp: The High Tatras and the Carpathian Association. Karlsruhe 2006, ISBN 3-927020-12-5 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ In old Hungary the "gold guilder" was introduced at 16 groschen as early as 1325 . In 1816 it was replaced by the gulden ( Hungarian forint), the division of which into 60 kreuzers goes back to the thaler introduced in 1553 .
- ↑ a b c Ernst Hochberger: High Tatras, mountains of northern Slovakia . Sinn 1992, ISBN 3-921888-06-9 .