The Struggle for the Soul of the Nation

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Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 9780742530249
Total Pages : 380 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (32 download)

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Book Synopsis The Struggle for the Soul of the Nation by : Bradley F. Abrams

Download or read book The Struggle for the Soul of the Nation written by Bradley F. Abrams and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2005 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The material effects of World War II, in combination with Eastern Europe's disappointingly undemocratic interwar history, placed radical social change on the postwar agenda across the region and shaped the debates that took place in immediate postwar Czech society. These debates adopted both a cultural form, in struggles over the meaning of the recent past and the nation's position on the East-West continuum, and a directly political form, in battles over the meaning of socialism. The Struggle for the Soul of the Nation examines the most important and politically resonant fields of historical and cultural debate in Czech society immediately after World War II. Bradley Abrams finds that communist public figures were largely successful in controlling debate over the nation's recent past--the interwar First Republic and the experiences of Munich and World War II--and over its location on the East-West continuum. This success preceded and was mirrored in the struggles over the political issue of the times: socialism. The communists engaged their political foes in the democratic socialist and Roman Catholic camps, and, surprisingly, found significant support from a major Protestant church. Abrams's careful reading of major publications re-creates a postwar mood sympathetic to radical social change, questioning the standard view of the communists' rise to power. This book not only contributes to the specific literature on Czech history, but also raises questions about the relationship between war and radical social change, about the communist takeover of the region, and about the role of intellectuals in public life.

Spartakiads

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Publisher : Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press
ISBN 13 : 8024638517
Total Pages : 425 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (246 download)

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Book Synopsis Spartakiads by : Petr Roubal

Download or read book Spartakiads written by Petr Roubal and published by Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press. This book was released on 2020-01-01 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every five years from 1955 to 1985, mass Czechoslovak gymnastic demonstrations and sporting parades called Spartakiads were held to mark the 1945 liberation of Czechoslovakia. Involving hundreds of thousands of male and female performers of all ages and held in the world’s largest stadium—a space built expressly for this purpose—the synchronized and unified movements of the Czech citizenry embodied, quite literally, the idealized Socialist people: a powerful yet pliant force directed by the regime. This book explores the political, social, and aesthetic dimensions of these mass physical demonstrations, with a particular focus on their roots in the völkisch nationalism of the German Turner movement and the Czech Sokol gymnastic tradition. Featuring an abundance of photographs, Spartakiads takes a new approach to Communist history by opening a window onto the mentality and mundanity behind the Iron Curtain.

Gender, Globalization, and Postsocialism

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Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780231127141
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (271 download)

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Book Synopsis Gender, Globalization, and Postsocialism by : Jacqui True

Download or read book Gender, Globalization, and Postsocialism written by Jacqui True and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: True examines political and gendered identities in flux in post-communist Czech Republic. She argues that the privatization of a formerly state economy and the adoption of consumer-oriented market practices were shaped by ideas and attitudes about gender roles. This book also offers a provocative general thesis about the inextricable linkages between political and economic changes and gender identities.

Sexual Liberation, Socialist Style

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Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108576486
Total Pages : 296 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (85 download)

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Book Synopsis Sexual Liberation, Socialist Style by : Kateřina Lišková

Download or read book Sexual Liberation, Socialist Style written by Kateřina Lišková and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-05-03 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first account of sexual liberation in Eastern Europe during the Cold War. Kateřina Lišková reveals how, in the case of Czechoslovakia, important aspects of sexuality were already liberated during the 1950s - abortion was legalized, homosexuality decriminalized, the female orgasm came into experts' focus - and all that was underscored by an emphasis on gender equality. However, with the coming of Normalization, gender discourses reversed and women were to aspire to be caring mothers and docile wives. Good sex was to cement a lasting marriage and family. In contrast to the usual Western accounts highlighting the importance of social movements to sexual and gender freedom, here we discover, through the analysis of rich archival sources covering forty years of state socialism in Czechoslovakia, how experts, including sexologists, demographers, and psychologists, advised the state on population development, marriage and the family to shape the most intimate aspects of people's lives.

The Czech and Slovak Republics

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Publisher : Central European University Press
ISBN 13 : 9633861535
Total Pages : 381 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (338 download)

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Book Synopsis The Czech and Slovak Republics by : M. Mark Stolarik

Download or read book The Czech and Slovak Republics written by M. Mark Stolarik and published by Central European University Press. This book was released on 2017-01-31 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The essays in the book compare the Czech Republic and Slovakia since the breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1993. The papers deal with the causes of the divorce and discuss the political, economic and social developments in the new countries. This is the only English-language volume that presents the synoptic findings of leading Czech, Slovak, and North American scholars in the field. The authors include two former Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, eight leading scholars (four Czechs and four Slovaks), and eight knowledgeable commentators from North America. The most significant new insight is that in spite of predictions by various pundits in the Western World that Czechia would flourish after the breakup and Slovakia would languish, the opposite has happened. While the Czech Republic did well in its early years, it is now languishing while Slovakia, which had a rough start, is now doing very well. Anyone interested in the history of the Czech and Slovak Republics over the last twenty years will find gratification in reading this book.

Communist Czechoslovakia, 1945-89

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Publisher : Red Globe Press
ISBN 13 : 023021715X
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (32 download)

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Book Synopsis Communist Czechoslovakia, 1945-89 by : Kevin McDermott

Download or read book Communist Czechoslovakia, 1945-89 written by Kevin McDermott and published by Red Globe Press. This book was released on 2015-08-28 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few Europeans in the twentieth century have been subject to the repeated buffetings by foreign powers, ideologically driven transformations and internal upheaval of the Czechs and the Slovaks. The period of Communist rule was complex, and those who gleefully overthrew the regime in 1989 were the very grandchildren of those who had voted for Communism with hope in the free elections of 1946. This concise account includes both political and social history, analysing half a century of Communism from at all strata of society. Kevin McDermott is equally intrigued by those in power and ordinary citizens, asking what motivates a young Czech worker-believer to join the Communist Party in the early 1950s, enrol in the People's Militia and remain in the party during the dark years of 'normalisation', yet end up welcoming the tearing down of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Using Czech and Slovak archival sources and the most recent historiography, McDermott challenges the still dominant 'totalitarian' paradigm and argues that the forty year communist experience in Czechoslovakia cannot simply be dismissed as a Soviet-imposed aberration.

Communism in Czechoslovakia, 1948-1960

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 650 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Communism in Czechoslovakia, 1948-1960 by : Edward Taborsky

Download or read book Communism in Czechoslovakia, 1948-1960 written by Edward Taborsky and published by . This book was released on 1961 with total page 650 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the Communist rise to power and social, economic, and political conditions.

Making the Most of Tomorrow

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Publisher : Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press
ISBN 13 : 8024640171
Total Pages : 456 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (246 download)

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Book Synopsis Making the Most of Tomorrow by : Matěj Spurný

Download or read book Making the Most of Tomorrow written by Matěj Spurný and published by Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press. This book was released on 2019-03-01 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: V šedesátých a sedmdesátých letech 20. století bylo kvůli povrchové těžbě uhlí zlikvidováno jedno z nejcennějších historických měst severních Čech. Náhradou za starý vznikl nový Most, který vzbuzoval veliká očekávání, ale nakonec stal symbolem úpadku i bezohlednosti československého státního socialismu. Kniha Most do budoucnosti plasticky vypráví o životě ve starém Mostě v dekádách po druhé světové válce a zprostředkovává diskuse a vyjednávání, které předcházely rozhodnutí o jeho zbourání, i ty, v nichž se rozhodovalo o charakteru nového města. Klíčové aspekty poválečných dějin Mostu autor zároveň vsazuje do kontextu myšlenkových i sociálních proměn v Československu i v Evropě 2. poloviny 20. století. Původně středověké město pohlcované velkolomem nebo betonová architektura nového Mostu tak pro čtenáře nezůstávají jen nesmyslnými projevy komunistické diktatury. Autor ukazuje, že jim můžeme porozumět, zapojíme-li je do kontextu vysídlení Němců a odcizení mezi lidmi a přírodou v českém pohraničí, produktivismu a technokratismu, sdíleného v poválečných dekádách velkou většinou Evropanů, či někdejší přesvědčivosti vize racionálně plánovaných měst.

Political, International, Social and Economic Aspects

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Author :
Publisher : De Gruyter Mouton
ISBN 13 : 9783111243177
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (431 download)

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Book Synopsis Political, International, Social and Economic Aspects by : Miloslav Rechcigl

Download or read book Political, International, Social and Economic Aspects written by Miloslav Rechcigl and published by De Gruyter Mouton. This book was released on 1968-04 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Czech Political Prisoners

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Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 073917634X
Total Pages : 193 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (391 download)

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Book Synopsis Czech Political Prisoners by : Jana Kopelentova Rehak

Download or read book Czech Political Prisoners written by Jana Kopelentova Rehak and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2013 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Czech Political Prisoners: Recovering Face is the story of men and women who survived Czechoslovakian concentration camps under the Communist regime. Men and women disappeared, were arrested, imprisoned, interrogated, tortured, put on trial, convicted, and sentenced to forced labor camps. In 1948 in Czechoslovakia, political others became political prisoners. New forms of political practices developed under the institution of the totalitarian Czechoslovakian communist state. This new regime of totalitarian political power produced culturally specific forms of organized political violence. Between 1948 and 1989 some citizens recognized by the state as political others were subjected to such ritualized political violence. The link between ritualized violence and state subjects' political passage laid the groundwork for the formation of new social identities. In the post-totalitarian state, the political other from the socialist era remains other through distinct desires and acts of coming to terms with the experience of organized violence. Like other members of the Czech and Slovak states, former prisoners are now facing the post-totalitarian remaking of life. In contrast to society at large, the political prisoners' recovery from the totalitarian past has proven that the ethics of political life--individual and communal coming to terms with the past--is closely related and crucial to their efforts toward reconciliation. Today, in the Czech Republic, as well as in other post-socialist countries, the desire to reconcile is not limited to survivors of camps, prisoners, and dissidents. People from the youngest generation are asking questions about crimes, punishment, and forgiveness related to the Communist regime in central and eastern Europe. The purpose of this story is to expose individual and communal experience, subjectivity, and consciousness hidden in the ruins of memory of Socialism in Czechoslovakia.

The Prague Spring 1968

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Publisher : Central European University Press
ISBN 13 : 9789639116153
Total Pages : 656 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (161 download)

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Book Synopsis The Prague Spring 1968 by : Jarom¡r Navr til

Download or read book The Prague Spring 1968 written by Jarom¡r Navr til and published by Central European University Press. This book was released on 1998-01-01 with total page 656 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In addition to revealing the events surrounding the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, this is the first book to document a Cold War crisis from both sides of the Iron Curtain. It is based on unprecedented access to the previously closed archives of each member of the Warsaw Pact, as well as once highly classified American documents from the National Security Council, CIA, and other intelligence agencies." "Presented in a highly readable volume, the book offers top-level documents from Kremlin Politburo meetings, multilateral sessions of the Warsaw Pact leading up to the decision to invade, transcripts of KGB-recorded telephone conversations between Leonid Brezhnev and Alexander Dubcek." "To provide a historical and political context, the editors have prepared essays to introduce each section of the volume. A chronology, glossary and bibliography offer further background information for the reader." "The editors have a unique perspective to offer to foreign audiences since they are members of the commission appointed by Vaclav Havel to investigate the events of 1967-1970."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Velvet Retro

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Publisher : Berghahn Books
ISBN 13 : 1789206286
Total Pages : 190 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (892 download)

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Book Synopsis Velvet Retro by : Veronika Pehe

Download or read book Velvet Retro written by Veronika Pehe and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2020-02-03 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scholars of state socialism have frequently invoked “nostalgia” to identify an uncritical longing for the utopian ambitions and lived experience of the former Eastern Bloc. However, this concept seems insufficient to describe memory cultures in the Czech Republic and other contexts in which a “retro” fascination with the past has proven compatible with a steadfast critique of the state socialist era. This innovative study locates a distinctively retro aesthetic in Czech literature, film, and other cultural forms, enriching our understanding of not only the nation’s memory culture, but also the ways in which popular culture can structure collective memory.

On the Road to Democracy

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 234 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis On the Road to Democracy by : Václav Klaus

Download or read book On the Road to Democracy written by Václav Klaus and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Collection of essays writtem during arguabley the most remarkable decade of hte 20th century, when communism fell throughout the Soviet Empire, and was replaced by free and market-oriented nations.

Empire of Friends

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Publisher : Cornell University Press
ISBN 13 : 1501735586
Total Pages : 290 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (17 download)

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Book Synopsis Empire of Friends by : Rachel Applebaum

Download or read book Empire of Friends written by Rachel Applebaum and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2019-04-15 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The familiar story of Soviet power in Cold War Eastern Europe focuses on political repression and military force. But in Empire of Friends, Rachel Applebaum shows how the Soviet Union simultaneously promoted a policy of transnational friendship with its Eastern Bloc satellites to create a cohesive socialist world. This friendship project resulted in a new type of imperial control based on cross-border contacts between ordinary citizens. In a new and fascinating story of cultural diplomacy, interpersonal relations, and the trade of consumer-goods, Applebaum tracks the rise and fall of the friendship project in Czechoslovakia, as the country evolved after World War II from the Soviet Union's most loyal satellite to its most rebellious. Throughout Eastern Europe, the friendship project shaped the most intimate aspects of people's lives, influencing everything from what they wore to where they traveled to whom they married. Applebaum argues that in Czechoslovakia, socialist friendship was surprisingly durable, capable of surviving the ravages of Stalinism and the Soviet invasion that crushed the 1968 Prague Spring. Eventually, the project became so successful that it undermined the very alliance it was designed to support: as Soviets and Czechoslovaks got to know one another, they discovered important cultural and political differences that contradicted propaganda about a cohesive socialist world. Empire of Friends reveals that the sphere of everyday life was central to the construction of the transnational socialist system in Eastern Europe—and, ultimately, its collapse.

Czechoslovakia

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Publisher : Hybrid Global Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9781948181884
Total Pages : 618 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (818 download)

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Book Synopsis Czechoslovakia by : Zuzana Palovic

Download or read book Czechoslovakia written by Zuzana Palovic and published by Hybrid Global Publishing. This book was released on 2020-01-11 with total page 618 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Take a journey into the borderland of the red empire, during an ideological battle that saw the world ripped in half. Dare to step into communist Czechoslovakia, where the controlled 'east' and the free 'west' converged at their closest. This is a story of ordinary people caught up in the midst of the 20th century's greatest political experiment. Through tales only told in whispers, glimpse into the everyday reality of those whose entire universe was ruled by the hammer and sickle.

Popular Culture and Subcultures of Czech Post-Socialism

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Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1443869252
Total Pages : 210 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (438 download)

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Book Synopsis Popular Culture and Subcultures of Czech Post-Socialism by : Ondřej Daniel

Download or read book Popular Culture and Subcultures of Czech Post-Socialism written by Ondřej Daniel and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2017-01-06 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book draws on wide range of inspirations to provide a well-balanced picture of the popular culture and subcultures of Czech post-socialism. What were the continuities and discontinuities of the post-socialist popular culture, mentalities and society during the period of late state socialism? What were the different mechanisms of ‘creating the Other’ in popular culture and subcultures? This volume shows the diverse trajectories of the late socialist (and older national) cultural practices and the related set of values and beliefs in new transitory circumstances. Whereas many scholars emphasize the tendency to sustain in a more or less adapted form under the new circumstances, the chapters and case studies of this book demonstrate a slightly different, more nuanced development.

Czechoslovakia, 1918-92

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Author :
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 0230377211
Total Pages : 281 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (33 download)

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Book Synopsis Czechoslovakia, 1918-92 by : J. Krejcí

Download or read book Czechoslovakia, 1918-92 written by J. Krejcí and published by Springer. This book was released on 1998-08-11 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following World War 1 a unique experiment in state-building took place between two closely kindred nations in Eastern Europe; an attempt to build up a composite ethnic - Czechoslovak-nation and provide it with an adequate political framework. This book gives the reader a succinct account of this experiment by means of ethnopolitical, economic and sociological analyses. The book is divided into three parts. The first, written by Jaroslav Krejci, on ethnopolitics explains the rationale of the experiment and reviews its obstacles, successes and failures, due to both internal and external causes. The second part, by the same author, contains an outline of the economic context of ethnic as well as social aspects of the development. As far as possible, the economic structure and performance of the Czech and Slovak parts of the state are given separate attention. The third part, by Pavel Machonin, is entitled `Social Metamorphoses' and covers structural changes in the Czech and Slovak societies. Changes in class structures, stratification, mobility and living standards constitute the main items for consideration. Wherever there is relevant material available, popular opinion on particular issues and electoral results are scrutinized.