We recently elected a President of the Republic. It is hard to believe, but this year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Czech Republic. Of course, the history of the Czech Republic as a nation is much older, and the first historically recorded Czech ruler, Salmo, lived in the 7th century. Alois Girasek called that period the Dark Ages. Of course, there are a few who say that it would have been better if the monarchy had remained in place. What do you think?
Anyway, Tomáš Galíke Masaryk was the first president of our republic and is associated with the modern Czech state system. Whether to thank him or mourn him, everyone will answer for himself.
Let me say a few words about this man. Masaryk was not only a politician and the first president, but also a philosopher, educator, and sociologist.
He was born into a poor family. His father was a coachman and his mother a cook. Nevertheless, Masaryk graduated from university. While studying in Leipzig, he met his American wife, Charlotte Garrigues.
After founding the Czech University, he became a professor of philosophy.
Political career
He joined the Czech Youth Party in 1890 and was elected to the Reichstag the following year. He advocated for greater Czech autonomy with all his might. 17]
Masaryk traveled frequently and established relationships with politicians from around the world. He communicated Czech demands to them. His inseparable collaborators were Edvard Benesch and Milan Rastislav Stefanik. They sought approval of the Czechoslovak demands. in 1917, Masaryk was gathering troops in Russia. The Czechoslovak Legion, with 50,000 men, operated mainly in Russia and was an ally of the French army.On March 7
, 1918, he met with President Wilson, who was interested in the postwar world order. President Wilson was not interested in Austria\’s proposal for the federalization of the monarchy and favored the creation of Czechoslovakia. [On October 28, 1918, Czechoslovakia was actually formed and Masaryk became its first president.