Jubilejná Výstava východu ČSR v roku 1938

Abstract

This paper analyzes the preparation, course and significance of one of the largest exhibitions in Central Europe at the time - the Exhibition of the East of Czechoslovakia, which was held in the summer of 1938 in Košice on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Czechoslovak Republic. Its goal was to approach and promote the progress that Slovakia, and especially its eastern part, has achieved in the two decades of the state's existence. The 174,000 square metre exhibition site was located in the northern part of the city on the site of what is now the Technical University. Part of the buildings constructed for the exhibition were to be handed over to the nascent Dr. Milan Rastislav Štefánik State Technical Universty after the exhibition. The exhibition was divided into five sections: 1. Czechoslovak State, 2. Slovak Country, 3. Land and People, 4. Technology and Industry, 5. Culture. The exhibition also included expositions of nearly two hundred private companies and tradesmen. In the critical situation in which the republic found itself, the exhibition was also to strengthen the patriotic spirit among the population and the determination to defend the country's independence. In terms of exhibitions, it was at a high level and pioneering in all respects.