Slovak Academy of Sciences and Arts, its Founding and Development between the Years 1942 – 1945

The study deals with the institutionalization and subsequent development of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Arts during the existence of Slovak state (1939 – 1945). It introduces the main actors of this process and their activities aimed at the creation of a central institution for the coordination of scientific research in Slovakia. The plans for the Slovak Academy have its roots in the changes in the scientific community after the dissolution of Czechoslovak Republic in 1939. They were also greatly influenced by the long-term rivalry between the two Slovak centers of research in Martin and Bratislava. The Slovak Academy was established despite the disagreement of substantial part of scientific and political elites, which was based both on rational arguments and purely ideological reasons. Although the Academy gained the political backing and was opened in 1943, the support of its sympathizers was steadily waning while the opposition remained relatively strong. The financial problems, staff shortage and internal struggles seriously hampered its research activities. However, in the restored Czechoslovakia, all mentioned problems were used as a proof that the Academy was not an "ideological" institution of the wartime Slovak state. This oversimplified argument had greatly contributed to the survival and further development of this institution in the new political reality after 1945.