This fic is about Czechoslovakia before the start of WWII. I'm posting it today, on 17 November, because it's Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. And, incidentally enough, my birthday; so this fic's my present to all my fellow Hetalia fans...Please don't hesitate to tell me if some of the words in Czech, Slovak, etc. are wrong! Oh, and I'm sorry if I got some of the historical details wrong...
Czechoslovakia was a nation formed from the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after WWI. It is made up of Czechia (which is divided into the regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia), Slovakia, and Subcarpathian Rus (which, as far as I know, is now a part of Ukraine).
29 September 1938
The door opened to reveal a spacy room with creamy walls and smooth tiles; a wooden table and numerous chairs stood at the centre of the floor. The personifications of Great Britain and France were pouring over a large map of Europe, pointing at various places and speaking in undertones.
"Anglie. Francie." Czechoslovakia crossed the threshold, the Czech cooly tilting his brown head in greeting while the Slovak followed close behind in silence.
England scowled at them. "What are you doing here? You didn't tell us you were coming."
"You didn't tell us that your bosses were meeting with Hitler, either," came the sharp reply.
"Come on, Angleterre. Tchéquie. Let's not be rude to each other, shall we?" Grinning widely and pointedly ignoring a comment about frogs, the Frenchman suavely made his way towards the dark-haired girl. The brunette was fingering at her dress and biting her lip. "Slovaquie, it has been a long time since we'd last met. Ça va?"
She merely stared at his proffered hand. "Nie," she said flatly. "You lied to us." All she could think about was the sight of Beneš pacing back and forth in his bureau, making for the window every once in a while. The future of her and Ján's peoples were uncertain ― and now one of their allies is trying to flirt, while conspiring with Germany behind their backs at the same time? It was…no. There is no word adequate enough to describe how she was feeling.
A sigh. France lowered his hand reluctantly as the brunet moved to stand in front of him. "So," (and here the country shot him a warning glare) "what's going to happen to the Sudety?"
The Allies shared a look. "We're not sure," the Englishman replied, shrugging. "A conclusion hasn't been reached yet. Tell you what: why don't you two go take some rest, sleep off your jet lag, and we'll call you when the conference is over?"
30 September 1938
Czechoslovakia stood once again in the drawing room of England's home, currently reading a copy of the Munich Agreement with growing dismay.
… the cession to Germany of the Sudeten German territory… will begin on 1st October…the Czechoslovak Government will be held responsible for carrying out the evacuation―
The brunet crumpled and tossed the treaty onto the floor. "What are you playing at? You don't just give away a part of someone else's land like this ― it's just not done!" Slovakia numbly picked up the paper ball, smoothing it out as much as she could and scanning the lines with a slight frown.
France held up his hands placatingly. "Désolé, mes chéris. We all have to make sacrifices, for the good of our nations as well as those of everyone else." The blond's words were just that: mere words.
"That's easy for you to say!" the boy snarled. "You aren't losing anything over this… this diktát!"
"Don't you talk back to us," England said coldly. "You are but a mere child. Can you imagine what would happen if we didn't agree to Herr Hitler's demands? Our economies were just starting to recover; the last thing we need is to have yet another Great War on our hands."
Giving away a part of some other country's land, just to preserve peace? What kind of twisted logic is that? It was like giving extra servings of dessert to a boisterous child to prevent him from stealing them off his siblings' plates. He'd rather fight Germany head-on; at least the resulting defeat would've shown that they've tried their best. But this…!
Česko clenched his hands tightly and glared at the so-called Allies. "Who do you think you are?" he yelled. "This is our nation you're talking about, here! You can't just sign bits of it away like that!" He lunged towards the man.
"Ján!" Slovensko hurriedly grabbed his arm. "Calm down! Prosím!" Feeling slight tremors in her grip, he turned around. His friend's face was pale as she gazed back imploringly. He sighed, feeling a rush of guilt. Drahomíra must be feeling just as horrible.
"Promiň, Draha." He took her hand into those of his own, pressing a kiss onto her knuckles. A bit of colour returned to her cheeks.
"Oh, get a bloody room!" The Englishman crossed his arms and looked away.
They flushed.
"Well?" The youth intertwined his and Draha's fingers, both smiling heasitatingly at one another; after all, they have to present a united front. "Is this it, Francie? Are you going to stand by while your ally is picked on by Germany?" He searched the other's blue eyes for a hint of remorse, discomfort, anything.
Nothing. "It's for the best," France murmured, glancing towards England.
1 October 1938
The three of them were staring at each other in heavy silence, Polsko idly twirling a strand of hair while Česko scowled and Slovensko looked nervous. After all, she was the one who shared a border with the blond.
"So." The brunet crossed his arms. "What do you want?" He ignored Draha's quiet gasp; he knew he was being uncivil. If there was a time and place for politeness, however, he believed now to not be it.
"Zaolzie, duh!"
…and there you have it. What's with everyone in Evropa these days, anyway? "I knew I did the right thing in keeping someone like you out of our Entente," he muttered under his breath.
Poland shot him a disinterested look. "Did you know that, thanks to you, I was able to ally myself with both Anglia and Francja?" Jerk.
Besides, haven't they already settled this a few years ago? "But haven't we given you enough land from Těšínské Slezsko already?"
"Yeah. You did," was the affirmation. "But it's not enough. I have, like, loads of people living in Śląsk zaolziański, too, y'know? Don't they deserve a chance to, like, be reunited with their relatives and friends in Polska?"
What? That was like asking Belgium to hand over about half of her landmass to Netherlands, because many of the regions therein have a Dutch majority…or Liechtenstein to be annexed by Germany! Neither scenario had taken place, to the Czech's ― so why should they agree to the Pole's demands?
Oh, right.
Děkuji vám, Mister Woodrow Wilson; your Fourteen Points have helped to create our nation and take it apart at the same time. "Why don't you find some way to get them to immigrate to your country, then?"
Poland merely rolled his eyes. "Like, stop thinking about yourself so much! You only want to keep the place because of its coal mines, anyway." He had a point (but of course Jan wasn't about to admit that). What with Germany flourishing at such an aggressive pace, he had a feeling that their country was going to need as many resources as they could get.
"The region's an important part of the Košice-Bohumín Railway," the boy said loudly. "I'm not about to hand it over. You should ask for something else."
"Hm." Green eyes scanned the map that had been laid out on the table before the meeting. "What about…"
9 October 1938
"Csehország! Szlovákia! Hogy vagy?" Hungary rushed towards them, a brilliant look on her face.
First the Allies, then Poland, and now her. What is this, a Pick-on-Československo Contest? May the biggest egomaniac win? "Very well, except for the fact that you're pres―oof." The Czech glared at his friend, who merely raised an eyebrow at him.
Slovensko gave a somber kind of smile. The former Kingdom was a guest, after all. Especially since they were having the meeting on her own soil. Which had diminished in size after that meeting with Poland. "We're doing just fine. Thank you for asking."
Maďarsko shook her head, but beamed all the same. "Come on, Szlovákia! You needn't be so formal; after all, we have lived together in Roderich's house for ages." The brunette slowly nodded, recalling the blond's assertive personality.
This Česko noticed, looking towards her out of the corner of his eyes. "Enough with the small talk, already! We ought to be getting right down to business."
The woman raised an eyebrow. "I missed you, too, János." There was a suspiciously nostalgic look on her face. "Remember when you used to volunteer to model for me?"
One of the boy's eyes twitched as he gave her a scowl. "You're talking about those photographs you made Slovinsko and I pose for, aren't you?"
She nodded eagerly. "You two look so cute together!" She clasped her hands together in front of her, sighing wistfully.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he flatly stated. "Besides, you hadn't exactly given us a choice in the matter. We had to choose between 'volunteering' and 'getting hit by your beloved frying-pan and being forced to model'."
The Hungarian would call out instructions like "Sit closer, you two!" and "No, no, don't do that! You're supposed to give each other burning looks of passion and love!" She'd taken hundreds of pictures of them sitting together, them holding hands, one of them resting his head on the other's shoulder…They'd drawn the line at kissing each other on the lips, of course. Really, neither he nor Slovenia could understand her enthusiasm for such things; all they could see in the photographs she'd shown them were expressions of well-hidden boredom and irritation. After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, they'd went separate ways with relief at being liberated from the blonde.
"May we can it with the reminiscing, already? Aren't we here to discuss land issues?" The youth rubbed at his forehead, feeling the beginnings of a mighty headache.
"Of course!" she chirped, then made for the nearest seat in the conference room. "I would like to have the territories in which my people make up the majority of the population." She took out the monochrome map she'd brought along, unrolling it on the surface of the table before her with help from the others. "Köszönöm. Now, I'm talking about the land from here…to here." She pointed at Czechoslovakia, at parts of which she'd shaded in red and green. The colours of the Hungarian flag, they swallowed more than fifty percent of Slov―
"No."
13 March 1939
For what seemed uncomfortably like an eternity, Česko sat unmovingly, his blue eyes seeming to look right through her. Slovensko figeted a little in her seat. "Ján? Are you all right?" It was a sunny afternoon, as anyone could tell with a glance towards various windows that lined the parlour walls of their home. Sunlight painted rectangles on parts of the stone floor.
"How can I be fine?" He shot her a hurt glance, and she winced. "Why are you doing this, Draha? I thought we were going to stand by each other―"
"We were." The brunette looked away for a moment. "I'm sorry…but my people want this more than anything."
"What about you?"
She folded her hands and whispered, "I want this, too."
"It's not that I'm against you becoming a nation ― you know that, don't you? ― but I really don't think this is the right time for it. Haven't you already been granted enough autonomy?"
"Česko." The said personification stiffened; she'd rarely call him by his formal name, except for the times when she was serious about something. "We would have to part ways some time in the future, eventually. Why not now?"
"Because that's what Germany wants!" The boy slapped a hand to his forehead, closing his eyes in fustration. "Don't you understand? He's trying to make us go against each other to make it easier for him when he invades us!"
She paled, but reddened just as quickly. "Is this what you've been worrying about?" she mused aloud, then sighed. "I can take care of myself, you know." It is for the best, she firmly told herself. I can't let Slovensko be retaken by Mad'arsko again. The thought made her stiffen for a moment. "Besides, I think we can trust Hitler; he just wants to protect us from Hungary." She looked down at her hands. "Remember, Ján?"
How could he not?
Draha's people'd have their culture and language slowly assimilated under the process of Magyarisation; it had been the Germans who, despite being part of the Kingdom's ethnic minority, ended up being favoured over everyone else.
The brunet nodded jerkily at her, recalling similar experiences. Rakousko-Uhersko had, between the two of them, kept the Czechs and Slovaks under their thumbs by playing favourites.
No, they weren't about to let themselves be annexed, not when they've finally had a taste of freedom. He sighed, getting up from his chair. "Come on, Draha. Why don't we go and ask Parliament about this? After all, the final decision is up to our people."
16 March 1939
The Czech stared grimly on as the Nazi troops marched down the streets of Praha. His people remained taciturn, looking at the situation with tight-lipped expressions and stony faces. Handfuls of ethnic Germans, particularily the women, had rushed towards the procession. All smiles, they threw small bouquets of flowers at the soldiers, showering the men with greetings and thanks. It was a silence peppered with cheers and laughter (especially on part of the Němky), and accompanied by the constant sound of cars and uniform footsteps.
They hadn't stood a chance, really. The Munich Betrayal had merely been a part of Adolf Hitler's hidden agenda for Československo. Appeasement, indeed!
After the ceding of land due to Hungarian and Polish irredentism, not to mention the self-determination of both Slovensko and Podkarpatská Rus, everything had fallen apart. Hitler, ever the opportunist, had cornered the President into ordering the army's capitulation only yesterday; Hácha'd almost collapsed from a heart attack because of this. Poor man.
He was pulled back from his thoughts when a woman beside him burst into tears. Turning around, he realised that she was one of his own. "Paní?" he asked uncomfortably. "Are you alright?"
"Ne," she answered, dabbing at an eye with a hankerchief. "What is going to happen to us now?"
He suddenly felt an unbearable sense of rage. Are they to go about their everyday life, pretending that everything was fine when it wasn't? All of their struggles and hard work had been for nothing, now that their country had practically been handed over to Germany on a silver platter.
Francie had turned out to be nothing but a slaboch, hiding behind Anglie instead of helping out like he'd promised to. As for Sovětský svaz ― thanks to Poland and Romania, Stalin was unable to help them. The brunet gnashed his teeth.
"Don't worry, Paní," he said stiffly. "Just because Hitler took over our country doesn't mean that we have to surrender." Seeing the woman's eyes widen, he quickly shook his head.
"No, I'm not talking about an all-out resistance. What I meant to say is that we can fight Německo from the inside. If every one of us did as much as we could," (and here he had to pause abruptly; he hated feeling so powerless, having had enough of such a despicable emotion during his time under Rakousko's roof) "the Allies will liberate us in no time."
At the mere mention of the Allied Powers, her face twisted with contempt. "The Allies, you say? Those traitors?"
He chuckled humourlessly. "Ano. Them." He took a deep breath. "But that is beside the point. I mean, wouldn't you like to get back at the Nazis?" The prospect of revenge, funnily enough, cheered her up significantly.
Before they knew it, German officials were all over the place, telling everyone to perform the Deutscher Gruß and shout Heil Hitler when the Führer comes. "What are we, doctors?" some had muttered, when they were out of the Nazis' hearing range. When the man himself arived, however, the civilians compliantly raised their right arms in a salute.
Německowas standing beside his boss on an armoured car. When the blond caught his eyes, the boy stared back defiantly. He felt little satisfaction at the fact that he was not the first to look away, though.
And when Prusko bounded towards him, happily reminiscing about the War of the Austrian Succession and the consequent seizing of most of Rakouské Slezsko , Česko ― no, he was Protektorát Čechy a Morava now ― ignored the former nation.
He gave him the finger instead, as soon as the other's back was turned.
Anglie (Czech), Angleterre (French), Anglia (Polish) - England
Francie (Czech), Francja (Polish) - France
Tchéquie (French) - Czech or Czechia; now commonly known as the Czech Republic
Slovaquie (French) - Slovakia
Ça va?- an informal way to ask "How are you?"
Nie (Slovak), Ne (Czech) - no
Beneš - President of Czechoslovakia
Jan (Czech), Ján (Slovak), János (Hungarian) - forms of the Engish name 'John', and the name I've given to the personification of Czechia as a tribute of sorts to both Jan Palach & Jan Opletal
Sudety(Czech) - Sudetenland, a part of Czechoslovakia which had an ethnic majority comprising of Germans
Désolé, mes chéris (French) - Sorry, my dears.
diktát(Czech) - Dictate, i.e. an order or command. The Munich Agreement was also known as the 'Munich Betrayal' (Mnichovská zrada in Czech, and Mníchovská zrada in Slovak), the 'Munich Dictate' (Mnichovský diktát in Czech, and Mníchovský diktát in Slovak), and 'Betrayal of the allies' (zrada spojenců in Czech) in Czechoslovakia.
Česko (Czech, Slovak), Csehország (Hungarian) - Czechia
Slovensko (Czech, Slovak), Szlovákia(Hungarian) - Slovakia
prosím (Czech, Slovak) – please
Drahomíra (Slovak) - the name I've given to the personification of Slovakia
Draha - a nickname for the name Drahomíra
promiň (Czech) – sorry
Zaolzie, Śląsk zaolziański (Polish) - trans-Olza Silesia, the Czech region beyond the river Olza
Evropa (Czech) - Europe
Jan was referring to the Little Entente, which is made up of Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Romania.
Těšínské Slezsko (Czech) - Cieszyn Silesia the region known to the Polish as Zaolzie
Polska (Polish) - Poland
Děkuji vám (Czech) - a formal way to say 'thank you'
Hogy vagy? (Hungarian) - an informal way to ask 'How are you?'
Maďarsko (Czech, Slovak) - Hungary
Slovinsko (Czech) - Slovenia, a country that had been part of the Kingdom of Hungary up to the end of WWI
Köszönöm (Hungarian) - thanks
Československo(Czech), Česko-Slovensko (Slovak) - Czechoslovakia
Rakousko-Uhersko (Czech) - Austria-Hungary
Praha = Prague
Němky (Czech) - German women
Podkarpatská Rus (Czech) - Subcarpathian Rus
Paní (Czech) - Madam
slaboch (Czech) - wuss
Sovětský svaz(Czech) - Soviet Union
Německo (Czech) - Germany
Rakousko (Czech) - Austria
Ano (Czech) - yes
Deutscher Gruß (German) - 'German Greeting', i.e. the Hitler Salute
Prusko (Czech) -Prussia
Rakouské Slezsko (Czech) - Austrian Silesia; the region was filled with firtile land and loads of factories...it practically became Prussia's 'cash cow'
Protektorát Čechy a Morava (Czech) - Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
Phrases from the line in italics, in the second part of this fic, are taken from the Munich Agreement itself (which can be found somewhere online...)