ope (Crowe 51)." Another reason for the mild treatment was Slovakia's contribution to the German war effort. Most of civil society during this time remained semi-autonomous, and as a result most of the Gypsies in Slovakia were spared their lives. The liberation of Czechoslovakia by the defeat of the Germans was a welcome change throughout the entire region. Only a handful of Gypsy families survived the Nazi occupation of Czech areas, and as a result large numbers of Slovak gypsies migrated into the now unoccupied areas of the Czech lands. The new communist led government encouraged Gypsies to enter the labor market and settle in urban areas of Czechoslovakia. While the new communist government welcomed the Gypsies into society their lifestyle and cultural habits were distinctly different and inhibited them from becoming assimilated into Czech society. The emergence of Socialism in the Czech lands brought new social problems for the Gypsies. Although the Communist led National Front originally supported the Gypsies, it became clear that in the new state there was no place for the Gypsies. The same remained true after the communist takeover in 1948 and the new government openly advanced the idea that the Gypsy culture was undesirable in Czechoslovakia. "It decided to eliminate the primitive old Gypsy way of life with all its bad habits (Crowe and Kolsti 97)." The new communist government wanted to destroy their social life and culture, and assimilate them into society. The first goal of the communist government was to eliminate the nomadic lifestyle of the Gypsies. In 1958, the government passed a law that forced Gypsies to establish permanent residence. The problem with the new law was that it forced them to give comprehensive assistance to the Gypsies. In order for the Gypsies to be able to assimilate into society, they would have to be supplied with housing, employment, and suitable education to turn them into hard working citizens...
