Original Pittsburgh Agreement of 1918 on View to Slovak Public Until September

June 9, 2008

The Pittsburgh Agreement began its stay on June 9 at the Slovak National Museum in Bratislava , where the historic document will be on display as part of the Museum's “Ako sme žili?”/“How did we live?” exhibit of Slovakia in the 20th century until the end of September. At the exhibit opening, Dr. Milan Zemko of the Institute of Historical Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences, introduced the historical context of the Pittsburgh Agreement and elaborated on its significance, while Ambassador Vincent Obsitnik officially presented it to the Museum in the name of the American people. To mark the 90th anniversary of the signing of the Pittsburgh Agreement -- a declaration by Czech and Slovak Americans and Czechoslovak statesman Tomas Masaryk of their aspirations for an independent republic -- the Embassy has sponsored a new exhibit, including the original document, on loan from the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh. At a previous opening of the Embassy-sponsored exhibit at Parliament on May 30, Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ján Kubiš spoke of the Agreement as the foundation for cooperation between the U.S. and Slovakia that exists today in the security, education and economic spheres. Ambassador Obsitnik -- himself a Slovak-American -- said: "The Pittsburgh Agreement represented a major step on the long road to independence for Slovakia and tangible proof of the support America has offered and offers to this day to Slovakia and its people." The Pittsburgh Agreement, signed on May 31, 1918 at a hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, prepared the way for the creation of the state of Czechoslovakia. In October, 1918, the primary author of the agreement, Tomas G. Masaryk, declared the independence of Czechoslovakia on the steps of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA.

• Ambassador's Remarks   Brochure | Leták (PDF)   TA3: Originál Pittsburskej dohody v SNM 

• Webnoviny: Originál Pittsburskej dohody z roku 1918 v SNM