The Classroom under State Command: A Comparative Analysis of the Nationalisation of Church-Run Educational Institutions in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Romania after the Establishment of Soviet-Type Dictatorships

Bence Zsolt Kovács

doi:10.62733/2026.1.77-115

Authors

Bence Zsolt Kovács Central European Academy of the University of Miskolc (CEA UM) https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7785-3879

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62733/2026.1.77-115

Keywords:

nationalisation, expropriation, Soviet-type dictatorship, communist ideology, church-run educational institutions

Abstract

Between the two world wars, churches played a central role in maintaining most educational institutions in the region of Czechoslovakia, formerly part of Transleithania (the Kingdom of Hungary), throughout the territory of Hungary, and among ethnic minorities in Greater Romania. This situation changed fundamentally following the establishment of Soviet-type dictatorships, which led to the nationalisation of church-run schools and kindergartens. This study explores the legal dimensions of this educational transformation across the three countries, focusing on the legislative frameworks that enabled nationalisation. To this end, the concept of nationalisation is defined in both its contemporary and historical meaning, the Marxist perspective on church-operated education is analysed, and the earlier Soviet policies that served as a blueprint for these changes are also reviewed.

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