The Role of Professor Władysław Semkowicz and the Jagiellonian University in Promoting Polonophilia in Slovakia in the Interwar Period

Abstract

The interwar relations between Czechoslovakia and Poland were tense for almost twenty years. Problems were caused not only by border disputes. In this situation, the interest of young Slovak intelligence in Polish culture and science began to increase in the early 1920s, which was supported by Warsaw, in its efforts to undermine the position of Prague. A well-known Slovakophile, Professor Władysław Semkowicz played an important role in supporting young Slovaks. His largest impact on Slovak-Polish relations was his patronage of visiting Slovak students at the Jagiellonian University. Semkowicz’s efforts gradually bore fruit. Many of the programme participants promoted Polish literature, art and history after their return home. This Polonophilia was not limited to the cultural sphere but also had an effect on politics. At the end of 1938, the Polish territorial claims against Slovakia severely disappointed the Polonophiles. Nevertheless, there were a number of Slovaks who kept their contacts in Polish cultural circles and continued to have pro-Polish sentiments even after the country’s defeat in September 1939.