Franz Spina (1868–1938)

Abstract

After the constitution of Czechoslovakia in 1918, its population also included a large German minority that initially refused the new state formation, hoping to become part of German Austria, which would then be annexed to Germany. This did not happen, and the socalled Sudeten Germans had to accustom themselves to the new status quo. In the early 1920’s, part of their political spectrum turned to a policy of “activism” consisting in cooperation with Czechoslovak authorities. This policy culminated in 1926 with two German ministers joining the first nationally mixed Czechoslovak government. The study looks into the fortunes of one of them, Franz Spina, a professor of Slavonic Studies and top representative of German agrarians (Bund der Landwirte), who held various government positions between 1926 and 1938, before resigning in March 1938 due to his disagreement with the party’s political direction, and who became a symbol of German activism in the Czechoslovak Republic.