Tomas Masaryk is a real hero for the Czech Republic. He was the leader of the movement, which aimed to achieve independence for Czechoslovakia. Having created the state, he became its first president and ran the formation from 1918 to 1935.
This legendary man was able to achieve everything thanks to his outstanding qualities. From the article you can learn more about his family, studies, wife, social activities and political views. The Czech sociologist and philosopher in many ways changed the life of his people, for which he was nicknamed "Father".
Philosopher's family
Tomas Masaryk was born on 03.03.1850 in Moravia (at that time the Austrian Empire). His family belonged to ordinary workers. Father's name was Joseph (years of life 1823-1907). By nationality, he was a Slovak from Hungary. Mother's name is Teresa (years of life 1813-1887). As a girl, she bore the name Kropachkova, and by nationality was a German native of Moravia.
Joseph Masaryk did not have land or even his own home. In his youth, he was hired to work in large farms, and after birth, Tomas became a coachman. The family lived in a service house. Joseph did not go to school, so he read with difficulty. Moreover, he was a very proud man with a strong character, was not afraid to argue with his employers. Therefore, he had to constantly change jobs, moving from one property to another.
Tomash himself recalled that his father was a capable, but simple person, so his mother was the main one in the house. In her youth, Teresa worked as a cook in rich houses, as a maid in Vienna. Since her native village was completely Germanized, she spoke and wrote only in German. Much later, when all her sons became public figures, she tried to speak with him in Slovak, but she did not succeed.
The family spoke German, but his father often switched to Slovak, just like Tomasz in the yard, playing with his peers.
Study period
At the age of six, Tomas Masaryk went to study in a rural school. He showed good academic success, so the teacher advised his parents to send him to high school. They did just that. The boy finished it in 1863 and returned home. Here he began to help the teacher, learn music, read. Only sixteen years old were accepted into the teacher’s seminary, and Tomash was only fourteen, so his mother decided to send him to Vienna to arrange a locksmith as an apprentice.
In the master’s house, the boy carried out tasks on the farm. One day, one of the students stole and sold his books. This was the last straw, and the young Masaryk fled home. Parents decided to give him as a student to a blacksmith. So another year passed.
The role of the village priest in the life of Tomas
In the life of every great man there are moments that determine his future path. Tomas Masaryk did not escape this. Interesting facts about his life would be incomplete without mentioning the village priest. It was Franz Satorh who let the boy read his books, taught him Latin and convinced his parents to let his son learn further. The priest helped the young man with exams, and he was able to enter the second grade of the German gymnasium. So, at the age of fifteen, he moved to the city of Brno.
Parents did not send money to the young man, so he was forced to become a tutor, and later a home teacher for the son of the police chief. The young man studied at the gymnasium for free and enjoyed great authority among other gymnasium students. At the same time, ideas about the revival of the Czech nation were rooted in him. Due to the conflict with the director, Tomasz never graduated from this gymnasium.
How Masaryk got a middle name
The police chief, whose son was trained by Masaryk, went on a promotion and moved to Vienna. He helped the young man to enter the capital's gymnasium. Her boyfriend graduated in 1872 at the age of twenty-two. Then he was able to graduate from a university in Vienna, studying simultaneously at the philological and philosophical faculties. In a few years he will become an assistant professor at the University of Vienna in Philosophy.
While studying in graduate school, the young man met an American Charlotte Garrig. She was the daughter of a New York banker. Father was against their relationship and gave his permission for marriage only after Masaryk refused the dowry. Young people lived modestly, using the income of Tomas. So the name Tomas Garrig Masaryk appeared. He took a middle name in honor of his wife. Charlotte gave birth to four children and learned Czech.
The wife did not provide her chosen one with money, but helped him in everything. She even spent several months in an Austrian prison for her husband’s political activities. And Charlotte's family still did not leave her daughter with anything. When the couple Masaryk lived in the United States, Tomas worked with his father-in-law, talked with businessmen and politicians, including one of the US presidents, Woodrow Wilson.
Czech question
Due to his political views, Tomas Masaryk could not hope for a professorship in Vienna. It was a salvation for him when, in 1882, the imperial administration allowed the opening of a university in the Czech Republic. He moved to the Czech Republic and engaged in educational activities, including releasing the Athenium magazine.
In the Czech Republic at that time there were two main parties - the youngest and the oldest. Representatives of both organizations embraced the philosopher's activities and thoughts. They did not want to accept him for a long time, but over time Tomasz was able to prove the correctness of his point of view and achieved such authority in society that both parties would like to add his name to their lists. Thus, they hoped to gain as many votes as possible in the elections to the imperial parliament.
Masaryk also sought to raise before the public the question of creating a Czech state with its own language and culture. Moreover, he was never against German culture, believing that enrichment with different cultures would make the Czechs an even more developed and multifaceted nation.
Since 1891, a politician was elected to parliament many times (Czech and imperial). He led the Realist Party, and then the People’s Czech Party.
Confrontation
At the beginning of World War I, the politician was convicted and sentenced to death, accusing him of high treason. In the Czech Republic, his activities ceased for a while. Tomas Masaryk was forced to leave his native land.
He was against Austrian war policy. Masaryk saw and understood how difficult it is for Czechs to fight against the Slavs. That is why he created the anti-Austrian underground.
At the same time, Tomash Garik Masaryk was ambivalent about Russia. He did not see her as a real ally in the creation of the Czech state, although he had been there many times, talked with Maxim Gorky, Leo Tolstoy.
The politician saw allies in Britain, France, the United States. It was these powers that recognized the creation of the Czechoslovak National Council, which was headed by Masaryk.
In 1917 he lived in Kiev, where his council was located. The politician often traveled to Moscow and Petrograd, he happened to be a witness of how the Bolsheviks came to power in all three of these cities.
As head of state
Tomas Masaryk and the formation of Czechoslovakia are inextricably linked. During his lifetime, his name began to grow into a cult of personality - he was considered the spiritual leader of free Czechoslovakia.
The politician was a fan of Anglo-American culture. He wanted to create a liberal multi-party democracy. Masaryk’s presidency was humanistic. He allowed the introduction of national minorities into state policy.
The politician headed the state until 04/01/1934 until he was struck by a stroke. A year later, at the age of eighty-five, he handed over the rule to his disciple and follower E. Benes. On September 14, 1937 his biography ended: Tomas Masaryk died, and a year later the state he created had ceased to exist.
