A History of the Binghamton Slovaks

World War I is generally regarded as "The War to End All Wars," and involved these world powers: Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and the United States. Not so well known are the politics that went on behind the scenes. The leaders of the oppressed nations of Eastern Europe worked for years to convince the world powers that it was the right time and opportunity to acquire independence for minority peoples who had suffered for centuries under the heels of German and Austro-Hungarian rule. Among those fleeing the tyranny of this regime were the Slovaks, whose culture, language, and educational opportunities were severely suppressed.

Slovak immigrants who settled in America and considered Binghamton as their new home did not forget their roots. They were eager to assist in acquiring independence for Slovakia, Moravia, and Bohemia. They recruited Slovak young men to become legionnaires in a Slovak unit to fight in Europe, and they also undertook a project to raise money to send to Slovakia to help the burgeoning new democracy.

This book was written by a corps of dedicated men and women, and compiled by Imrich Mazar, in order to credit the donors who contributed to the formation of the new nation of Czechoslovakia. Since it was written in Slovak, it became a project for Wilhelmina Mazar Satina, daughter of Imrich Mazar, to have the book translated into English. The resulting history of these Binghamton Slovaks is a valuable and absorbing book for historians, and particularly for the descendants of the writers and donors of this history in tracing their ancestors’ lives and activities. The book is truly a treasure of history, written while it was being lived from the years 1879 to 1919.