Pukkai László: Mátyusföld I. A Galántai járás társadalmi és gazdasági változásai 1945-2000 - Lokális és regionális monográfiák 3. (Komárom-Dunaszerdahely, 2002)
Magyar-szlovák helységnévjegyzék
Summary László Pukkai Mátyusföld I (Social and Economic Changes of the Galanta District Between 1945-2000) In his book, the author introduces the social and economic changes of the district of Galanta, focusing mainly on the formation of the situation of Hungarian people in Slovakia after the Second World War. In fact, from ethnographical point of view the Galanta district means the region that is known under the name Mátyusföld, of which settlements are mentioned in the first written records from the beginning of the 11"’ and 12,h centuries. The Galanta district, as an administrative unit of the historical Hungary, was formed in the second part of the 19“’ century, and after the dissolution of the Austria-Hungarian Monarchy, it was formed in Czechoslovakia, and later from Is' January 1993 when the Slovak Republic was formed, it remained to be an administrative unit. In his historical retrospection, the author writes about the policy towards the national minorities in Czechoslovakia between the two World Wars. He also writes about the land reform, within the framework of which agricultural territories were seized in accordance with the expropriation law primarily from people of Hungarian nationality in Slovakia (325,000 hectares in total) and these territories were then given to Slovak settlers, who in addition received allowances and payment in kind. During a few years, Czechoslovakia created 2054 estates of settlers in the south of Slovakia, on the area lived by Hungarians (thus in the Galanta district, too) with a 22,473 hectare territory. These arrangements not only made the living and the financial situation of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia difficult, but also disrupted the ethnical unity of Hungarians in the south of Slovakia. After the Second World War in the renewed Czechoslovakia, according to President Beneš’s Decree No. 33/1945 from 2nd August 1945, the Hungarians (and Germans) living in Slovakia were deprived of their citizenship. Consequently, a process began that for .the sake of the creation of a pure Czechoslovak nation-state entailed a series of anti- Hungarian provisions. In accordance with the National Council’s Decree No. 26/1945, in Southern Slovakia (and thus in the Galanta district, too) it was possible to set up National Committees - that dealt with the administration of the territory -only in territories that were lived by Slovaks. In the territories lived by Hungarians or territories with the majority of Hungarian nationality people a commissioner or a collective body was named by the representative of the Ministry of the Interior to practice jurisdiction of the National Committee. At the beginning from the 52 territories of the Galanta district only in 11 communities were the National Committees set up. In consequence of the withdrawal of citizenship in Slovakia, through four years the lands, houses, and all kind of real estates of Hungarians were confiscated and were given to Slovaks who settled in the Hungarian regions. In the Galanta district 498 plants were confiscated together with 9,217.4 hectare of land. The number of planned Slovak 195
