was a Bill of Rights for national minorities, which guaranteed all 'nationals of the Czechoslovak Republicabsolute equality in the eye of the law, [to] enjoy the same civil and political rights without distinction of race, language, or religion.' All national minorities were granted full economic and employment rights (Crowe 43-44)At this time there were believed to be around 31,000 Gypsies the majority of which were living in the Slovakia. While the Gypsies did not make up a large percentage of the thirteen million people living in the Czechoslovak Republic, they did constitute the countries largest minority population. One specific area of improvement for the Gypsies during this time was in education. The formation of Gypsy schools in areas of Czechoslovakia were important for the education of young Gypsies, and as cultural centers for Gypsy populations living in those specific areas. The schools taught the children in their native tongue and taught them about their culture and community. While the Gypsies were able to make considerable advances both culturally and socially during this time, these achievements soon disappeared. The collapse of the republic in 1938 and the invasion of the area the following year by Hitler and the Nazi's brought about serious changes for the Gypsies. In a matter of a year the Gypsies went from being regarded as equals within Czech society to outcasts under Hitler. In 1939, all of Czechoslovakia was taken over by the Nazi's and in the following years the entire Gypsy population of the Czech territory were killed at Auschwitz. Close to 8,000 Gypsies died in the Holocaust as a result of Hitler's ethnic cleansing. Gypsies in Slovakia were much more fortunate and many Czech Gypsies were able to escape the purges by migrating to Slovakia. Part of the reason why Slovakia received mild treatment compared to that of the Czech area was that Hitler wanted Slovakia to be a "propaganda showpiece in Southeastern Eur...
