Jiri Setina Collection

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Jiri Setina Collection http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt3v19r16g No online items Inventory of the Jiri Setina Collection Processed by Yvonne Spura Hoover Institution Archives Stanford University Stanford, California 94305-6010 Phone: (650) 723-3563 Fax: (650) 725-3445 Email: [email protected] © 2004 Hoover Institution Archives. All rights reserved. Inventory of the Jiri Setina 94021 1 Collection Inventory of the Jiri Setina Collection Hoover Institution Archives Stanford University Stanford, California Processed by: Yvonne Spura Date Completed: 2004 Encoded by: ByteManagers using OAC finding aid conversion service specifications and Elizabeth Konzak © 2004 Hoover Institution Archives. All rights reserved. Descriptive Summary Title: Jiri Setina Collection Dates: 1945-1996 Collection number: 94021 Collector: Setina, Jiri, collector. Collection Size: 39 manuscript boxes(15.6 linear feet) Repository: Hoover Institution Archives Stanford, California 94305-6010 Abstract: Photocopies of selected minutes, reports, memoranda, and letters, of the central committee of the Czechoslovak communist party and the Czechoslovak ministry of the interior, relating to political persecutions in Czechoslovakia, trials and imprisonment for political offenses, forced labor camps, confiscation of church property, and secret police activities. Physical location: Hoover Institution Archives Languages: Languages represented in the collection: Czech Access The collection is open for research. The Hoover Institution Archives only allows access to copies of audiovisual items. To listen to sound recordings or to view videos or films during your visit, please contact the Archives at least two working days before your arrival. We will then advise you of the accessibility of the material you wish to see or hear. Please note that not all audiovisual material is immediately accessible. Publication Rights For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Archives Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Jiri Setina Collection, [Box no.], Hoover Institution Archives Acquisition Information Acquired by the Hoover Institution Archives in 1994. Accruals Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. To determine if this has occurred, find the collection in Stanford University's online catalog at http://searchworks.stanford.edu/ . Materials have been added to the collection if the number of boxes listed in the online catalog is larger than the number of boxes listed in this finding aid. Alternative Forms of Material Available Originals in: Archiv Komunisticke strany *Ceskoslovenska, Prague, and Archiv Ministerstva vnitra, Prague. Scope and Content of Collection Photocopies of selected minutes, reports, memoranda, and letters, of the central committee of the Czechoslovak communist party and the Czechoslovak ministry of the interior, relating to political persecutions in Czechoslovakia, trials and imprisonment for political offenses, forced labor camps, confiscation of church property, and secret police activities Indexing Terms Inventory of the Jiri Setina 94021 2 Collection The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog. Subjects Political prisoners--Czechoslovakia. Forced labor--Czechoslovakia. Secret service--Czechoslovakia. Civil rights--Czechoslovakia. Political crimes and offenses--Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia--Religion. Czechoslovakia. Ministerstvo vnitra. Komunistická strana *Ceskoslovenska. Úst*redni výbor. Box/Folder: 1 : 1 Minutes of meetings of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Czechoslovak Communist Party relating to the case of churches, dignitaries, priests, religion teachers, former theology students, nuns and monks, and the group Russicum; memorandum of a congregation of the Catholic bishops to the president of the Czech Republic; reports of the Czechoslovak Communist Party Regional Committee for Church Affairs relating to the case of Czech and Slovak nuns, the ten accused clerics, the surveillance of church services in Prague in 1949, the removal of archbishop Josef Beran, and the working plan of 1949 Box/Folder: 1 : 2 List of employees transferred from the Department of National Defense to the regional committees of the National Institute for Church Affairs; proposal of the Central Action Committee of the National Front for the reorganization of the group Junák; reports relating to the cases of the group Russicum, activities of the Christian-Democratic Party deputy František Kaďůrek, the lawsuit against bishop Stěpán Trochta and his punishment, the punishment of priests, and the purge of churches in 1950; statute of the pioneer division of the group Junák Box/Folder: 1 : 3 List of prisoners in the forced labor camp Mírov; report on removal of residents and unreliable individuals from the restricted border zone; minutes of meetings of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Czechoslovak Communist Party. Scope and Content Note Includes the speech of Rudolf Slanský about the burial of Edvard Beneš in September 1948 Box/Folder: 1 : 4 Report on the status of the Czechoslovak security system and trial and imprisonment for political offenses Box/Folder: 1 : 5 Written agreement between the Central Customs Office and the 4th sector of the Corps of National Security on the cooperation in non-tradable imports and exports; written request from the Italian Communist Party for financial help to organize a courier service between Warsaw, Budapest, and Bucharest Box/Folder: 1 : 6 Minutes of meetings of the Political Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Czechoslovak Communist Party, relating to the origin of The 2000 Words Declaration, its authors and organizers, the proposal on the observation of illegal groups and their activities, and the internal political situation in August 1989; plans, letters and notes about the situation of the National Security Department; situation report on employees, the Department of Education, forced labor camps, the People's Militia, rifles, and the organization of the Corps of National Security; complaint against employees of the Company Baťa; working guide for the verification of citizens and purge of the republic of enemies; note of the Security Commission consultant; report on Czechoslovak refugees, the detention of the West German secret service agent Libuše Hrubá (Soňa), and on the investigation methods of Milan Moučka; proposals of Alexej Cepička to fill positions on the regional and provincial Security Commission and to reduce Soviet consultants in the Department of Interior; second part of the minutes of meeting of the Soviet Central Committee of the Communist Party relating to the Soviet-Yugoslav treatment Inventory of the Jiri Setina 94021 3 Collection Container List Box/Folder: 1 : 7 Reports on death penalty trials, the Czech agent Stefan Kolman, who was shot to death by Oldřich Kvapil, criminal methods of the National Security Department in 1948 and 1949, the elimination of an illegal agrarian organization, executions of Miloslav Choc and Slavoj Sádek, trials and imprisonment for political offenses, and the Czechoslovak Counter-Intelligence Service; complaint against Jaromir Kopecký Box/Folder: 2 : 1 Reports on the escaped prisoner Jan Hvasta hiding in the American embassy, the liquidation of the group Odborník, and trials and imprisonment for political offenses Box/Folder: 2 : 2 Reports on the detention of demonstrators on 1962 May 1, purges in central authorities, the status of the National Security Department in 1969, foreign broadcasting jamming, the events of 1988 December 9–11, and security during celebrations in church sv. Víta in Prague in 1988; minutes of meetings of the Central Committee of the Czechoslovak Communist Party; directives of the Central Committee of the Czechoslovak Communist Party Box/Folder: 2 : 3 Reports on trials and imprisonment for political offenses and the removal of unreliable individuals from Prague (B operation) Box/Folder: 2 : 4 Reports on trials and imprisonment for political offenses, the removal of residents and unreliable individuals from the restricted border zone, and the censoring of letters and telegrams from and to capitalist countries; proposal on the dissolution and prohibition of Zionist organizations in Czechoslovakia and the nomination of a head prosecutor in the Rudolf Slanský trial Box/Folder: 2 : 5 Letter from the Department of Foreign Affairs to the American embassy relating to the kidnapping of Czechoslovak agents in West Germany; proposal of the Department of Interior on confiscated houses released to Germans with Czechoslovak citizenship; reports on trials and imprisonment for political offenses Box/Folder: 2 : 6 Reports of the Consulting Committee of the National Security Department on the verification of citizens (T-43 operation) and the trial for Věkoslav Loutský and Miroslav Pich-Tůma; letter from Karel Košťál to Antonín Novotný about his party activities; list of employees of the Regional Security Committee; directives of the Department of National Security, Department of Interior, and the Department of Justice on the situation of families of convicted kulaks Box/Folder: 2 : 7 Reports on the conference of deputies of the Committee for Church Affairs with Soviet ministries, the burials of bishop Karel Skoupý, bishop Robert Pobožný, and bishop Josef Hlouch, the confiscated American religious movie Youth in Trouble, religious ceremonies for Virgin Marie Svatohorská, the confiscation of Gestapo documents from
Recommended publications
  • February 1948: Establishment of the Communist Regime
    I have just returned from the castle from meeting the President. Today in the morning, I submitted to him my proposal for ac- ceptance of the ministers´ resignations who resigned on 20 February of this year and at the same time I proposed to the President a list of people who should substitute for the gov- ernment and reconstruct it. I would like to inform you that the President accepted all my proposals as they were submitted. Comrades, all discharging letters as well as all letters of ap- pointment are signed by the President and I will countersign them soon. February 1948 21, Speech by Klement Gottwald, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Czechoslovak Communist Party, 25 February 1948 Measures of the Action Committees were measures that were taken based on their proposal or instead of them and they were made in the period from 20 February 1948 until the bind- ing force of this Act and which sought to protect or to secure the people´s democratic system or to purify public life; they Klement Gottwald are rightful, including in cases where they would not be in ac- in Prague - photo after cordance with the relevant regulations. the retouch of sentenced Act No. 213/1948 Coll. Vladimir Clementis The February 1948 events in Czechoslovakia were a logical result of the actions by the Czechoslovak Communist Par- ty-Communist Party of Slovakia, the leaders of which started systematically, even during the Second World War, to prepare to seize power in the state. Róbert Letz, historian FEBRUARY 1948 imprisonment and suppression.
    [Show full text]
  • HLAS DOMOVA Registered at the G.P.O
    ; HLAS DOMOVA Registered at the G.P.O. Melbourne for transmission by post as a periodical Ročník II. Melbourne, 8.prosince 1952 Číslo 25. Y_?-E22e_22.JP2EY§Y2Z2;L2 VZHÖRU, PSANCI .TÉTO ZEMĚ TnmmnTmnmnrrirfinmrrtmnnninnnnnirinnmnrinninniTir.inmnrnnnmnnrirnm "Člověk velikého intelektu, hluboce myslivý, přísně vážný, vnitř­ ně zanícený, krásných' osobních vlastností, -s čistýn ryzín charakterem a ušlechtilým cítěním. Viděli jsme, že hořel žhavou láskou k dělnické třídě a nadšením pro veliké revoluční dílo Leninovo a Stalinovo... Získal neocenitelné zásluhy o ukování KSČ jako strany nového leninsko- stalinského typu, jako strany bolševických zásad." V .-Kopecký o R. Sl ánském 31.7.51 v R u d é m P r á v u "Byl jsem nepřítelem komunistické strany a vytvořil jsem spiklene­ cké hnutí, abych rozložil stranu. Podobnou činnost jsem také vyvíjel uvnitř armády už od doby prvního československého povstání v roce 1942, kdy jsem aktivně působil proti zájmům Sovětského svazu a ve službách Benešova režimu. Jsem člověk s dvěrná politickými tvářeni. Ve skutečno­ sti jsem nikdy nebyl komunistou." R.Slánský o sobě 20.11.52 před soudem ____ ____ Ač to vypadá sebe po­ obžalovaných kuli sice ise "spontánně" přiznali. divněji, Kopeckého citát pikle v armádě i politi­ Bylo to velké defilé. je pravdivější než Slán­ ckém životě, ale proti Bývalý generální sekre­ ského autoportrét. Když I zájmům "Benešova, režimu" tář KSČ Rudolf Slánský pě­ si ho přeložíme ze sta- ja ve službách Sovětského stoval -styky se Západem, linštiny do češtiny, mu­ svazu. Ve skutečnosti dával informace nepřátel­ síme Slánskému přiznat zůstali až do konce pra­ ským agentům, jako předse­ "veliký intelekt". "Hlu­ vými komunisty.
    [Show full text]
  • Session of the Zionist General Council
    SESSION OF THE ZIONIST GENERAL COUNCIL THIRD SESSION AFTER THE 26TH ZIONIST CONGRESS JERUSALEM JANUARY 8-15, 1967 Addresses,; Debates, Resolutions Published by the ORGANIZATION DEPARTMENT OF THE ZIONIST EXECUTIVE JERUSALEM AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE n Library י»B I 3 u s t SESSION OF THE ZIONIST GENERAL COUNCIL THIRD SESSION AFTER THE 26TH ZIONIST CONGRESS JERUSALEM JANUARY 8-15, 1966 Addresses, Debates, Resolutions Published by the ORGANIZATION DEPARTMENT OF THE ZIONIST EXECUTIVE JERUSALEM iii THE THIRD SESSION of the Zionist General Council after the Twenty-sixth Zionist Congress was held in Jerusalem on 8-15 January, 1967. The inaugural meeting was held in the Binyanei Ha'umah in the presence of the President of the State and Mrs. Shazar, the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the Knesset, Cabinet Ministers, the Chief Justice, Judges of the Supreme Court, the State Comptroller, visitors from abroad, public dignitaries and a large and representative gathering which filled the entire hall. The meeting was opened by Mr. Jacob Tsur, Chair- man of the Zionist General Council, who paid homage to Israel's Nobel Prize Laureate, the writer S.Y, Agnon, and read the message Mr. Agnon had sent to the gathering. Mr. Tsur also congratulated the poetess and writer, Nellie Zaks. The speaker then went on to discuss the gravity of the time for both the State of Israel and the Zionist Move- ment, and called upon citizens in this country and Zionists throughout the world to stand shoulder to shoulder to over- come the crisis. Professor Andre Chouraqui, Deputy Mayor of the City of Jerusalem, welcomed the delegates on behalf of the City.
    [Show full text]
  • The German National Attack on the Czech Minority in Vienna, 1897
    THE GERMAN NATIONAL ATTACK ON THE CZECH MINORITY IN VIENNA, 1897-1914, AS REFLECTED IN THE SATIRICAL JOURNAL Kikeriki, AND ITS ROLE AS A CENTRIFUGAL FORCE IN THE DISSOLUTION OF AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. Jeffery W. Beglaw B.A. Simon Fraser University 1996 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts In the Department of History O Jeffery Beglaw Simon Fraser University March 2004 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. APPROVAL NAME: Jeffery Beglaw DEGREE: Master of Arts, History TITLE: 'The German National Attack on the Czech Minority in Vienna, 1897-1914, as Reflected in the Satirical Journal Kikeriki, and its Role as a Centrifugal Force in the Dissolution of Austria-Hungary.' EXAMINING COMMITTEE: Martin Kitchen Senior Supervisor Nadine Roth Supervisor Jerry Zaslove External Examiner Date Approved: . 11 Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.
    [Show full text]
  • Czechoslovakia and the Hungarian Revolution in 1956
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Repository of the Academy's Library i i i i West Bohemian Historical Review VII j 2017 j 1 Czechoslovakia and the Hungarian Revolution in 1956 István Janek∗ In 1956, the Czechoslovak authorities successfully suppressed all traces of a potential uprising. It can be stated that peace was not seriously disturbed in both the Czech and the Slovak territories, and no significant movement took place. The Czechoslovak society was not yet prepared for a political turn-over in the 50’s. The cautious change of direction in 1953 and the economic reforms had borne their fruits by 1956, which prevented the spread of the revolution to Czechoslovakia. The pull and let go tactic of the authorities worked. Czechoslovakia pulled through the critical year of 1956 and she got stronger. Slovak Hungarians could choose between their survival as a minority and an uprising in autumn 1956. A sober deliberation excluded all steps leading to a Hungarian revolution. The Slovak Hungarians still had vivid memories of suffering, which they experienced after 1945. Worries of being accused of irredentism were strong and any support of Hungarian revolution was unthinkable. [Czechoslovakia; Hungarian Revolution; 1956; minority question; Soviet Union; bilat- eral relations] Introduction Parliamentary elections were held in Czechoslovakia on 30th May 1948. Citizens could vote only for the united list of the National Front led by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (CPC). This list received 89.2 % of all votes. Those who disagreed with the united list threw a blank slip in the poll box.
    [Show full text]
  • Did Stalin Lure the United States Into the Korean War?
    NORTH KOREA INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTATION PROJECT E-DOSSIER #1 Did Stalin Lure the United States into the Korean War? By Donggil Kim and William Stueck June 2008 NKIDP e-Dossier no. 1 Did Stalin Lure the United States into the Korean War? New Evidence on the Origins of the Korean War Donggil Kim and William Stueck The following telegram from Joseph Stalin to Czechoslovak President Klement Gottwald on 27 August 1950 in which the Soviet leader explained his decision-making in the preceding months raises new questions about the origins of the Korean War. Did Stalin purposefully seek to entangle the United States in a military conflict on the Korean Peninsula? Did Stalin expect an intervention by the Chinese communists from virtually the beginning of the conflict? First published in the original Russian in Novaya I Noveishaya Istoriia in 2005,1 two experts, Beijing University Professor Donggil Kim and University of Georgia Professor William Stueck, provide an initial assessment of this potentially significant new finding. Kim argues that the document suggests that Stalin gave Kim Il Sung permission to attack South Korea on 25 June 1950 not because he felt the US would not get involved, but precisely because he wanted the US to become entangled in a limited conflict in Asia. Other scholars, by contrast, have emphasized that Stalin secretly approved Kim Il Sung`s plan to attack during the North Korean leader’s secret trip to Moscow in April 1950 – only after receiving his assurances that South Korea could be overwhelmed so quickly, in a matter of a few weeks, that Washington would be unable to rescue it.2 From the very beginning he envisioned a conflict involving not just the North Koreans, but also the newly established People’s Republic of China.
    [Show full text]
  • Yigal Bin-Nun the Immigration from Islamic Countries In
    Journal of Media and Communications History in Israel and the Jewish World The Andrea and Charles Bronfman Institute for the Study of Jewish Press and Communications at Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University, P.O.B. 39040 Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel; Tel. 972-3-6408665; Email: [email protected] Head of The Institute and Managing Editor of Kesher: Prof. Yosef Gorny Founder of The Institute: Shalom Rosenfeld First Editor of Kesher: Dr. Mordecai Naor No. 36, Autumn 2007 CONTENTS Editor Editorial / Yosef Gorny 2e Prof. Gideon Kouts Kesher 36 / Gideon Kouts 3e Foreign News and Contemporary History in the Early Hebrew Press Editorial Board Remarks on the “Invention” of Foreign News in the Hebrew Press Prof. Yosef Gorny, / Gideon Kouts 5e Prof. Dan Caspi, Dr. Mordecai Naor, Window on the World / Prof. Yoram Peri, Dr. Orly Tsarfaty, Ya’akov Shavit 7e Dr. Baruch Leshem, Dr. Uzi Elyada Covering Disaster in the Israeli Popular Press: Ha-Or and the Sinking of the Titanic / Ouzi Elyada 7e Editorial Assistant Daphna Kanner Cohen Iconology of Advertising in Israel: The Image of the Seashore / Avivit Agam Dali 8e Hebrew Copy Editor Herzlia Efrati Statesmen as Columnists in Israel Ahad Ha’am: Journalist in Practice, Potential Politician/ Shulamit Laskov 8e Proofreading Ben-Gurion’s Attitudes toward Communism / Yosef Gorny 9e Herzlia Efrati Moshe Sharett’s Transition from Journalism to Statesmanship, 1931 / Mordecai Naor 9e English Section Me’ir Ya’ari as an Artist of Polemic Writing / Aviva Halamish 10e Michal Engel Irit Shimrat Yitzhak Laufbahn, Editor of Ha-Poel ha-Tzair / Meir Chazan 10e Menachem Begin as a Journalist / Arye Naor 11e Graphic Editor Michal Semo-Kovetz The Price of Being Present: Yosef Haim Brenner as Cultural Hero / Nurit Govrin 11e Cover Design Media Darkness: The Attitude of The Times of London and The New Yael Kfir York Times to the Issue of the Displaced and Refugee Jews during the Last Year of World War II / Arie Kizel 12e Print The Jewish Press in Argentina after the U.N.
    [Show full text]
  • Antagonism? the Transformation of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia and Its Relations to the Social Democrats
    Vladimir Handl Institute of International Relations, Prague “Hard Left” and “Soft Left” Antagonism? The Transformation of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia and its Relations to the Social Democrats Presented at the 4th European Conference of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in Warsaw, October 29 – 31, 2003 1. Transformation of the Czech Communist party..................................................................... 2 2. KSČM and its relations vis-à-vis ”Hard” and ”Soft Left” ..................................................... 5 2.1. Preferences for the “Hard Left” ...................................................................................... 5 2.2. Institutional Constraints ..................................................................................................6 2.3. Ideological Limitations ................................................................................................... 6 2.4. The Evaluation of History............................................................................................... 9 2.5. Political Constraints ...................................................................................................... 10 3. Conclusions:......................................................................................................................... 12 References ................................................................................................................................ 13 Parties and Social Movements Published by the Policy Research Department of the Rosa
    [Show full text]
  • Political Stability and the Division of Czechoslovakia
    Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 8-1996 Political Stability and the Division of Czechoslovakia Timothy M. Kuehnlein Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Kuehnlein, Timothy M., "Political Stability and the Division of Czechoslovakia" (1996). Master's Theses. 3826. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/3826 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. POLITICAL STABILITY AND THE DIVISION OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA by Timothy M. Kuehnlein, Jr. A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of Political Science Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan August 1996 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The completion of this project was both a tedious and rewarding experience. With the highest expectations for the style and content of the presentation, I have attempted to be as concise yet thorough as possible in the presentation and defense of the argument. The composition of this thesis entails nearly two years of diligent work outside of general course studies. It includes preliminary readings in Central and East European affairs, an extensive excursion throughout the Czech and Slovak republics with readings in the theory of political stability, the history and politics of Czecho­ slovakia, in addition to composing the text. My pursuit was driven by a passion for the topic, a quest for know­ ledge and understanding, and the argument's potential for continued development.
    [Show full text]
  • Eva Taterova Researcher, Department of Territorial Studies Mendel
    Eva Taterova Researcher, Department of Territorial Studies Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic [email protected] FINAL REPORT: VISEGRAD SCHOLARSHIP AT THE VERA & DONALD BLINKEN OPEN SOCIETY ARCHIVES Project title: Rudolf Slansky’s Trial from the Perspective of Radio Free Europe Research area: The informational environment of the period of the Cold War, East and West Research period: 30/6-31/7/2016 Research description Early 1950s were in the light of the political processes with the real or alleged opponents of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. The worldwide attention received especially the show trials with Rudolf Slansky, the former General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and fourteen of his co-workers in 1951- 1952 (sometimes known as Prague Process in western media). The political processes in Czechoslovakia were not the first example of the purges in the communist parties in the countries of Eastern Block (e. g. the former ministry of foreign affairs of Hungary Laszlo Rajk was sentenced to death penalty in October 1949; Trajco Kostov, the former General Secretary of Communist Party of Bulgaria, was executed in December 1949). The research conducted in Open Society Archives in Budapest in July 2016 aimed to explore and to analyze the perspective of Radio Free Europe (RFE) on Rudolf Slansky’s trial in Czechoslovakia (November 1951 – November 1952). Two basic research questions were set in order to specify the research area: What information about the processes did RFE have at their disposal? 1 What was the perception of the contemporary situation in Czechoslovakia by RFE? A special attention was dedicated to the cases of two Israeli citizen Mordechai Oren, Shimon Orenstein, and the American reporter William N.
    [Show full text]
  • The History of the Czech Lands Is Full of Vicissitudes of Fortune, Tragic Turns, And, to Some Degree, Absurdities
    15th Annual J.B. Rudnyckyj Distinguished Lecture Friday, February 29, 2008 Planetarium Auditorium, Manitoba Museum Prague Spring in Modern Czech History By Dr. Jiři Pehe Director, NYU in Prague Prague, Czech Republic The history of the Czech lands is full of vicissitudes of fortune, tragic turns, and, to some degree, absurdities. It is the history of a small nation, which is located geopolitically in one of the most vulnerable spots in the world. As a result, especially in the 20th century, Czechs found themselves on a real rollercoaster of history. Despite the difficulties of interpreting Czech history as well as with remembering its various turns, there is, some say, an accessible key for unlocking it. Seemingly, all one needs to remember is two things: the word “defenestration” and the fact that almost all really important events of Czech history took place in years ending with the number 8. Since defenestration means “throwing a person out of a window”, one may wonder why something so bizarre should be such an important notion in any nation’s history. Yet, when we look back, there are indeed three cases of defenestration in Czech history, which signaled the arrival of major upheavals and revolutionary periods. The first defenestration occurred in 1419, when a crowd of demonstrators demanded that several of Jan Hus’s followers should be released from prison. When the city’s councilors refused to release the prisoners, the crowd burst into the Prague town hall and threw the councilors out of the windows. The councilors who survived the fall were beaten to death.
    [Show full text]
  • CZECH (With Slovak) 2020/2021
    UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD FACULTY OF MEDIEVAL AND MODERN LANGUAGES Information for the Preliminary Course in CZECH (with Slovak) 2020/2021 This handbook gives subject-specific information for your Preliminary course in Czech (with Slovak). For general information about your studies and the faculty, please consult the Faculty’s Undergraduate Course Handbook (https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/portal/site/:humdiv:modlang). THE PRELIMINARY COURSE Czech teaching normally takes place at the Faculty in 47 Wellington Square. Czech language and literature are taught by: Dr Rajendra Chitnis (Associate Professor of Czech, Ivana and Pavel Tykač Fellow, University College) Office: F3, 47 Wellington Square (Staircase 1, First Floor) E-Mail: [email protected] Phone (term-time only): 01865 286881 Dr Vanda Pickett (Czech Language Tutor) E-Mail: [email protected] Czech language at Oxford is taught as a Beginner’s language, i.e. no previous knowledge of Czech is required. First Year students will receive three hours of intensive Czech language classes per week. Native speakers, speakers with Czech or Slovak background, or otherwise more advanced students of the language will be given more demanding language work, tailored to their needs and abilities. Throughout the year, First Year students also attend weekly seminars and tutorials on Czech literary texts and a lecture series on Czech history and culture. You will be asked to attend a meeting towards the end of 0th week in Michaelmas Term to finalize the timetable. ☛ Extensive local and external web resources for students of Czech and Slovak language and literature are available at: http://czech.mml.ox.ac.uk Further details about the papers to be taken in the Preliminary Examination and set texts for literature are given below, together with an introductory reading list, recommended dictionaries, textbooks and some other background reading.
    [Show full text]