We started the year with an event that will be remembered for a long time. The discussion with Tomáš Hudák from Strong Speeches, who came to tell us about his new book Americans, was exactly the type of meeting after which one realizes that history is not distant – it is personal, alive and often very close.
The event was created as part of NextGen activities, but the topic quickly found its way to a much wider audience. The stories of Slovak emigrants resonate across generations, especially here, in eastern Slovakia.
Slovaks, steel and Pittsburgh
During the discussion, Tomáš Hudák described the life of Slovaks who left for work in the United States before the war. Many of them came from our regions and headed to the area of Pittsburgh and its surroundings, where they found employment in smelters and steel mills.
He spoke about hard working conditions, about life in a new world, but also about how Slovaks across the ocean created strong communities that helped them survive their separation from home. He connected historical facts with specific human fates – and thanks to this, the stories did not seem distant, but very authentic.
A book that grew out of family stories
Finding your own roots
Tomáš also shared with us how he got to historical documents and archival materials. During the presentation, he showed the participants a database of
herritage.statueofliberty.org, where everyone can look up information about migrants arriving in the United States.
For many, it was an impulse to start – or continue – in the search for their own ancestors. Several participants were able to find themselves in the stories immediately, and some admitted that they had listened to similar family stories.
An atmosphere that will remain
The whole meeting was held in a relaxed, open and friendly atmosphere. The official part was followed by space for informal conversations, book signings and joint photos with the author – and it was these moments that put an end to a very strong experience.
40 people attended the discussion in person, and more than 450 participants joined online. In terms of interest, it was the most visited event so far.
What the participants said
"Tomáš described in great detail and engagingly the 'exodus' of Slovaks to America, their life, parallels with today's immigrants, their terrible conditions, he studied it very well, the whole narrative was perfect. Thank you for such events!," Miram Obušeková.
"I was interested in the precise treatment of the topic, which must have been time-consuming... I was amused by the letter, where there was a mix of English, Slovak and "Eastern"..., I also liked the emancipation of returning American women, but there were a number of very interesting moments. Thank you," Zuzana Kolesárová.
"Since I had already seen 3 videos with Tomáš Hudák on YouTube (Adela and Sajfa, Lužifčák, and one more video), I had already read the book Americans and I knew about the www.kasigarda.sk website, I was pleasantly surprised that you responded promptly to this topic. As always, Tomáš was funny, matter-of-fact, inspiring," Vladislav Geletka.
"I had no idea that his great-grandfather was one of the people who left for America at that time, and based on this event, I went to buy the book Americans that very day. I was very interested in the story of how he found out various details about the life of his great-grandfather," Diana Klimová.
"We learned that the card from the ironworks had more weight than the ID card," Katarína Dittelová.
