corruption

Research of corruption in the socialist countries of the former Eastern Bloc – in comparison with the research of this phenomenon in the established democratic regimes – is considerably complicated by the lack of proper sources. The amount and quality of the relevant data that could be used for reconstruction of the practice of corruption as well as the attitudes of the public towards this practice, does not make comparative studies of the extent and development of corruption among states possible; however, the sources available are enough to determine certain particular tendencies.

Corruption, bribery, favouritism, abuse of authority etc. has existed in every society. In Czechoslovakia, the first years after the Second World War when a new regime was built up with the direct participation of the communists, were no exception. Naturally, these phenomena did not stop after the Communist party assumed undisputed control over the government of Czechoslovakia, quite the opposite, unprecedented spread of corruption started.

Czech and Slovak banks had a great opportunity for development in the interwar Czechoslovakia. However, following the economic expansion in the beginning of the 20´s banking industry in Czechoslovakia faced a serious crisis.

The author studies examples or rather just indications of possible corruption in football in Slovakia in the interwar period. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, the football was becoming a sport with the most massive spectator support. The enormous rivalry arose amongst the football clubs during various competitions and wins were sometimes to be achieved nearly at any price.

In the presented study, we analyse corruption in the public sector, anti-corruption policies and the influence of particular actors on these areas during the last two decades. This period of time is evaluated as a quite dynamic time of vivid transformation for the political and economic system. Therefore, analysis and overview of concrete activities by concrete actors in distinct periods of time could reveal interesting outcomes which would demonstrate the reality of the anti-corruption efforts.

Perspectives of what is corruption have been changing with the development of the society and according to the shifts of its values. The study examines not only activities that were considered morally wrong and corrupted in the middle ages and early modern period, but also those forms of behaviour that started to be generally considered corrupted only later. Anachronistic as this approach might seem, it gives us better insight into the slow process of changing attitudes towards some forms of corruption.

In the socialist era corruption was an organic part of the political, economical and social sphere. Since 1989 public discourse about this previously taboo topic has increased. Our aim is to highlight how the inhabitants of Slovakia perceive the present situation.

During 1939 – 1945, the Slovak Jews were dispossessed of all types of their property and this was transferred to non-Jews. This process is referred to as Aryanization. An integral part of Aryanization was the disposition and transfer of the Jewish property. Of the total of 12 300 companies, some 2300 were Aryanized and the rest was liquidated.

Corruption in various forms was always a part of the solution of the Jewish question in Slovakia during the years 1938 – 1945. However, local circumstances eased the situation in that that even the most severe anti-Semitic state provisions made concessions to granting some exceptions, for which one had to pay. It was common, by the public gratefully acknowledged norm of social behaviour, accepted also by the persecuted Jewish community. During full-scale elimination of Jews from the public life the corruption took primarily primitive forms of individual or group threats and blackmailing.

The author sees an uncriminal corruption as an acquiring of property and various privileges and benefits according to applicable laws and rules on the basis of political posts and loyalties. He analyzes its symptoms in the interwar democratic Czechoslovak Republik and in the autoritarian wartime Slovak Republic with its growing tendency to the totalitarian regime.