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Course & Subject Guides

Transnational Pittsburgh

A guide to resources for African American, Asian American, and Eastern European migrations into the Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania areas.

Slovakia

Books

Slovak Pittsburgh by Lisa Alzo
ISBN: 0738549088
Publication Date: 2006-11-29
No other city in the United States is home to more Slovaks than Pittsburgh. Through historical photographs, Slovak Pittsburgh celebrates the rich heritage there. It is estimated that close to 100,000 Slovak immigrants came to the area in the 1890s looking for work and the chance for a better life. The hills and valleys of this new land reminded newcomers of the farms, forests, and mountains they left behind. They lived in neighborhoods close to their work, forming numerous cluster communities in such places as Braddock, Duquesne, Homestead, Munhall, the North Side, Rankin, and Swissvale. Once settled, Slovak immigrants founded their own churches, schools, fraternal benefit societies, and social clubs. Many of these organizations still enjoy an active presence in Pittsburgh today, serving to pass on the customs and traditions of the Slovak people.
The Immigrant Church and Community by June G. Alexander
ISBN: 0822938219
Publication Date: 1987-10-01
A book covering the growth and development of the Slovak Catholic institutions in the city of Pittsburgh.
Ethnic Pride, American Patriotism by Granatir Alexander June; June Alexander
ISBN: 1282505750
Publication Date: 2008-01-01
In "Ethnic Pride, American Patriotism," June Alexander presents a history of inter-war America from the perspective of new Slovak and Eastern European immigrant communities. Like the groups that preceded them, Slovak immigrants came to define being American as adhering to its political principles; they saw no contradiction between being patriotic Americans and maintaining pride in their ancestry. To counter the negative effects of the 1924 immigration law, Slovaks mobilized a variety of political and cultural activities to insure group survival and promote ethnic pride. In numerous localities "Slovak days" brought first and second generation immigrants together to celebrate their dual identity. June Granatir Alexander's study adds complexity and nuance to entrenched notions of conflicts between tradition-bound immigrants and their American-born children. Showing that ethnicity mattered to both generations, Alexander challenges generalizations derived from "whiteness" studies.

Publications and Records

The Slovaks and the Pittsburgh pact.
A publication concerning the formation of the Pittsburgh pact--a declaration of intent to form the 20th-century nation of Czechoslovakia following the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in 1918.
Records of the National Slovak Society, District 6, Southwestern Pa., 1919-1967
These records are primarily in the Slovak language, although one set of meeting minutes is in English. There were many National Slovak Societies (NSS) located in the area and they are referred to indirectly concerning membership. Also included in this collection are a few monthly reports, membership transfers, and membership roll lists as well as materials relating to national conventions and some badges and pins.
Records of the National Slovak Society, District 6, Southwestern Pa., 1919-1967, AIS 1980:14, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh.
Gift of the National Slovak Society, Assembly 39, Uniontown (Fayette County), Pa., June 1980.
District 6 of the National Slovak Society originated in 1919 and spanned 48 years congregating several local assemblies together for various events and activities. It appears from some of the minutes taken that there was a struggle to maintain membership in the District 6 location, but the society continued to be maintained for a number of years.
Czechoslovak Nationality Room Committee Collection

General Slovakia Resources

Czech and Slovak History: An Annotated Bibliography
This links to the electronic version of Czech and Slovak History: An American Bibliography by George J. Kovtun. It is offered through the Library of Congress website and contains more than 5,000 entires on resources dealing with Czech and Slovak history.
Czech Literature Resources and Links
Offers Czech and Slovak language and literature resources, including a short bibliography and several links to English-Czech-English dictionaries and translators. Also has links to news sources in English, Czech, and Slovak, as well as to radio and TV stations broadcasting Czech or Slovak material on the internet.
Slovak National Library
Access to the catalog and collections of the Slovak National Library. In Slovak and English.
Slovak-Russian Dictionary
A Slovak-Russian and Russian-Slovak online dictionary. Keyboards available for entering characters in either the Roman or Cyrillic alphabet.
TITUS
TITUS (Thesaurus Indogermanischer Text - und Sprachmaterialien) is an international effort to gather old texts relevant to Indo-European study. The project's site includes texts in Old Church Slavic, Old Czech, Old Polish, Old Slovenian, Old Russian, and Old Baltic languages including Prussian and Armenian.