Flag of the Upper Hungary Magyar Educational Association

The Upper Hungary Magyar Educational Society ( hu, Felvidéki/Felsőmagyarországi Magyar Közművelődési Egyesület, FEMKE, also FMKE; sk, Hornouhorský maďarský vzdelávací spolok) was a non-governmental organization in

Upper Hungary Upper Hungary is the usual English translation of ''Felvidék'' (literally: "Upland"), the Hungarian term for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been ...

, founded on 20 November 1883, that conducted

Magyarisation Magyarization ( , also ''Hungarization'', ''Hungarianization''; hu, magyarosítás), after "Magyar"—the Hungarian autonym—was an assimilation or acculturation process by which non-Hungarian nationals living in Austro-Hungarian Transleithan ...

initiatives among the region's predominantly ethnic Slovak population. By sponsoring cultural activities, education for children, and the establishment of libraries and courses in the

Hungarian language Hungarian () is an Uralic language spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighbouring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Outside Hungary, it is also spoken by Hungarian ...

, the Society aimed to assimilate Slovaks into the country's Hungarian population while spreading the general use of Hungarian, then the official state language. It was based in Nyitra, now the city of Nitra in western

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

, and was supported by the prominent Hungarian nationalist Béla Grünwald and the Bishop of Nitra, Imre Bende. The organisation met some success: between 1900 and 1910, the proportion of self-identified Slovaks in

Nyitra County Nyitra County ( hu, Nyitra vármegye; german: link=no, Neutraer Gespanschaft/Komitat Neutra; la, Comitatus Nitriensis; sk, Nitriansky komitát / Nitrianska stolica / Nitrianska župa) was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of ...

dropped by over 6 percent, thanks in part to its efforts, and by 1910, it was estimated that 21 percent of the Slovak population in the country as a whole had learned Hungarian. The Society came to operate 227 libraries across Upper Hungary. Its establishment was followed by the setting up of a similar society in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

. FEMKE was ultimately dissolved in 1919 after the breakup of the Kingdom of Hungary.

References

1883 establishments in Hungary 1919 disestablishments in Hungary 19th century in Slovakia 19th century in Austria-Hungary Cultural assimilation {{cultural-assimilation-stub