Wyniki wyszukiwania - Biblioteka Nauki

1

ACADEMIC INTERPRETATIONS OF ISLAM IN COMMUNIST CZECHOSLOVAKIA: RUDOLF MACÚCH, KAREL PETRÁCEK AND IVAN HRBEK

100%

Piricky G.

|

2008

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tom 61

|

nr 2

93-102

EN

The research of religions in former Eastern Bloc countries is often presented in terms of a loss of contact with the Western academic tradition and ideological bias. This paper attempts to show however that the study of Islam in individual countries was not homogenous. Islamic Studies in communist Czechoslovakia (1948-1989), although to a significant degreee limited by the ruling atheist ideology as reflected in Marxist- Leninist dogmatism, did not develop in isolation from Western scholarly debates. In fact, major works published in Slovak and Czech language by three respected Islamicists Rudolf M a c ú c h, Karel P e t r á c e k and Ivan H r b e k show clearly that Czechoslovak scholarship on Islam was to a wide extent connected with Western concepts, including the issues of methodology and the Orientalist discourse.

2

Aktivizace jugoslávských informbyrovců v Československu v důsledku krize roku 1968

100%

Vojtechovsky O.

Slovanské historické studie (Slavonic Historical Studies)

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2007

|

tom 32

149-165

EN

The Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia in August 1968 brought out again the hopes of Yugoslav pro-Soviet emigrants in countries of the eastern bloc concerning the opening of the Yugoslav issue. Main proponents of the Prague Informbyro group were very critical to the development during the Prague Spring; hence they mostly welcomed the entering of the armies of the Warsaw Pact. The sudden worsening of Soviet-Yugoslav relations, the weakened international position of Yugoslavia and the internal crisis in that country did not rule out a similar solution as in Czechoslovakia. As a result, the core of activists of the Prague group together with the proponents of Informbyro in other countries of the socialist bloc directed their activities at the beginning of the 1970s towards the restoration of their political activities. The study attempts to map these activities and the opinions held by leading Yugoslav emigrants with the use of sources mainly from the archives of intelligence services.

3

ZÁKONÍK PRÁCE Z ROKU 1965 – ZÁKLAD ČESKOSLOVENSKÉHO PRACOVNÍHO PRÁVA VE DRUHÉ POLOVINĚ MINULÉHO STOLETÍ

80%

Vojáček L.

Historický časopis (Historical Journal)

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2014

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tom 62

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nr 3

501 – 523

EN

The study is devoted to the development of Czechoslovak labour legislation in the second half of the last century. It traces the form and practical application of the basic legal norm – the Labour Code from 1965. It points to the economic and political causes of the most important changes and the impact of the adopted measures on the application of the code in practice. Apart from all the unrealized projects from the period of the renewal process and the post-November legislation, the study directs its attention especially to the characteristics of the three main amendments to the Labour Code during the Normalization period, which the author designates as the normalizing (1969), amending (1975) and reforming (1988) changes. The author endeavours to observe that the development of the legal norms connected with the labour process, the motivation for introducing particular amendments, problems with the implementation of some ideas, conflicting views and difficulties with the application of some adopted measures significantly contributed to the atmosphere of the time. These problems reflected the individual phases of the development of Czechoslovak or Czech and Slovak society in the second half of the last century.

4

IMPACT OF THE POLITICAL CHANGES UPON ETHNIC IDENTITY OF HUNGARIAN POPULATION IN THE REGION OF SOUTHERN SLOVAKIA AFTER 1918

80%

Olejník M.

Človek a spoločnosť. Internetový časopis pre pôvodné teoretické a výskumné štúdie z oblasti spoločenských vied

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2013

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tom 16

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nr 3

-

EN

The paper analyse concisely a history of Hungarian community in Czechoslovak Republic after 1918. Similarly as the majority society – Slovaks, the Hungarians underwent a dramatic flow of changes – adaption to conditions of the First Republic (1945 – 1948), a period of communist dictate and democratic changes after November 1989. Each of these periods affected lives of Hungarians living in Slovakia in a different way. The paper is trying to provide elementary information of these developments and reactions of Hungarians not only as members of community but also as individuals.

5

Vladislav Přistoupil jako jeden z prvních českých výzkumných chemiků ve Spolku pro chemickou a hutní výrobu

80%

Lorencová I.

DVT - Dějiny věd a techniky (History of Sciences and Technology)

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2007

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tom 40

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nr 1

35-41

EN

The Association for the Chemical and Metallurgical Production in Usti n. L. was founded in the middle of the 19th century by German specialists, and from the end of the century it was one of the most important institutions for creating main structure of industrial chemistry in the Czech lands. V. Pristoupil was only the 5th Czech chemist employed there from 1920s. His work, mainly in the Association, is described in the article - at the beginning the way of production of phosphorites, his later research (e. g. anticorrosive measures, chloral processes or vanadic contact material), and then his work during the WWII and after the war.

6

Vybrané rysy spirituality české katolické církve (1948-1989)

80%

Hanus J.

Soudobé dějiny (Contemporary History)

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2007

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tom 14

|

nr 2-3

341-353

EN

In this article the author seeks to explain some fundamental features of Roman Catholic spirituality in the Bohemian Lands after the Second World War. He demonstrates that this phenomenon was in essence both determined by the 'Roman Catholic Renaissance' of the 1930s and by new tendencies, particularly after the Communist takeover of February 1948. Among these tendencies was its enforced closed nature, fear of persecution, traditionalism, and conservatism, which were mainly the result of the limitations on being in touch with people abroad. On the whole, however, the author believes that Czech Roman Catholicism from the Communist takeover to the collapse of the regime in late 1989, despite all its problems, contributed to Czech culture, and he demonstrates this also in the reception of the Second Vatican Council in Bohemia and Moravia. The spirituality of women, both of nuns and of secular intellectuals, receives special praise in the article.

7

"Je třeba vyrovnat se s řáděním pravicových živlů". Úvahy Václava Krále nad stavem československé historiografie z léta 1969

80%

Vondrova J.

Soudobé dějiny (Contemporary History)

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2007

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tom 14

|

nr 4

880-911

EN

In this volume, the authoress presents an unknown report by the historian Vaclav Kral (1926-1983). Entitled 'Information on the State of Czechoslovak Historiography', it was first delivered at the Soviet Embassy, Prague, 21 August 1969. Vondrova discovered the document in the Russian State Archive of Contemporary History. In it, Kral assesses Czechoslovak contemporary history and 'exposes' an interest group, which he portrays as a 'terrorist gang', amongst the historians. With 'reactionary elements' at the core of the Czechoslovak Communist Party (the reformists) the group allegedly sought to return historiography to bourgeois, Masarykian ideology. Kral calls Milan Hubl and Jan Kren the leaders of the group, which included Vilem Precan, Milan Otahal, Karel Bartosek, and Vaclav Kural. He also points to the Institute of History of the Czechoslovak Communist Party, the Party University, the Department of Contemporary History in the Institute of History at the Academy of Sciences, and the Czech Historical Society as the centres of 'counter-revolution in historiography'. He concludes with proposals to reorganize institutions of historical research, and to ban about 140 historians. The authoress puts the document into the context of the radical-left wing Czechoslovak Communist politics after August 1968, Czechoslovak historiography, and Kral's career. A dogmatist, Kral began as an historian in the 1950s, and in 1962 became head of the Czechoslovak-Soviet Institute. In the 1960s, the ideological models he used, however, came under criticism, and he was isolated when leading historians sought to have historiography restored as a critical discipline free from direct dependence on politics. He was given another chance after the Soviet-led intervention, becoming involved in the far-left wing of the Party. A direct instrument of Soviet influence, this wing put forward demands for the condemnation of the 'Prague Spring', for the dismissal of its supporters, and pro-Soviet positions. In his report, Kral settles accounts with his critics, and, soon after writing it, himself carried out the purges in the Czechoslovak-Soviet Institute and the Historical Institute. In the 'Normalization' period he shored up his position, becoming Chairman of the Academic Board of the Academy and Head of the History Department, Charles University, and was made a professor.

8

Československá diplomacie v únoru a březnu 1948. Příspěvek k mezinárodním aspektům komunistického převratu a k destrukci česko-slovenských demokratických elit stalinistickým režimem

80%

Dejmek J.

Český časopis historický (The Czech Historical Review)

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2010

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tom 108

|

nr 1

70-113

EN

This study deals with the structure and changes in Czechoslovak diplomacy at the time of the Communist coup d'etat and shortly thereafter. The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia to which only a small minority of civil servants declared their allegiance prior to February 1948, succeeded in gaining control of the Ministry without any difficulties as early as the very beginning of the putsch. However, a number of Czechoslovak Ambassadors in Western countries, among others those in the USA, France, Canada and the Latin American countries stood against the new power. The attempt of the permanent delegate at the UN, Jan Papanek to persuade the UN Security Council to consider the international aspects of the putsch was the most significant contribution. Even though he was immediately denounced by the new Communist Government, he helped to raise an awareness in the West of the real circumstances of the coup d'etat.

9

JOSEF HLOUCH A KATOLICKÁ AKCE

80%

Svoboda R.

Studia theologica

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2013

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tom 15

|

nr 3

184–196

EN

This survey deals with Josef Hlouch’s contribution to Catholic Action. In the first part, it provides insight into the context of the founding and development of Catholic Action from 1922 and the consequent introduction of Catholic Action in Czechoslovakia after 1927. In the second part, it relates the details of the beginnings of Catholic Action in the Archdiocese at Olomouc in the 1930s and provides insight into Josef Hlouch’s contribution to the course about Catholic Action for priests in 1936. In conclusion, the survey ranks Hlouch among those clergymen who were inclined to a more intense pastoral activity as a way of solving religious questions. He is also introduced as a theologian shaped by the ideas of the Catholic Church.

10

POZOSTALOSŤ MILANA RASTISLAVA ŠTEFÁNIKA V KONTEXTE INŠTITUCIONÁLNYCH A RODINNÝCH ZÁUJMOV V MEDZIVOJNOVOM A VOJNOVOM OBDOBÍ

80%

Macho P.

Muzeológia a kultúrne dedičstvo

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2017

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tom 5

|

nr 1

57 – 68

EN

After the tragic death of Milan Rastislav Štefánik, one of the founders of Czechoslovakia, the Czechoslovak government bought his estate and uses it for museum exhibition purposes. The collection of Štefánik‘s effects and writing was much sought after by Slovak as well as Czech museums and memory institutions, but it finally found its home in the museum of Czechoslovak Legions in Prague established at the Ministry of Defence (Památník odboje). In 1939-1940, the collection was transferred to Slovakia to the Slovak National Museum in Martin. Today, many of these artefacts are now located in Štefánik‘s birth house in the village of Košariská which is a branch of the Slovak National Museum. This papers examines the tumultuous history of negotiations between the Czechoslovak government and the Štefánik family which resulted in the purchase of Štefánik‘s estate in 1923.

11

Český realismus v exilu : o časopise Skutečnost (1948-1953)

80%

Hruby P.

Soudobé dějiny (Contemporary History)

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2007

|

tom 14

|

nr 4

744-756

EN

In this article the author discusses 'Skutecnost' (Reality), a remarkable Czechoslovak emigre periodical published after the Communist takeover. The author was one of its founders and editors. 'Skutecnost' was started up in Geneva in late 1948 essentially as a students' monthly. The first number was published in March 1949. Owing to its high quality, openness, non-partisanship, forthrightness, critical approach, and non-conformism, however, 'Skutecnost' soon gained an extraordinary standing amongst emigre periodicals. Its programme and name reflect its affiliation with the realism of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk (1850-1937), in the sense of its perspicacity and critical assessment of reality, advocated an active, uncompromising defence of democracy against totalitarianism, supported the integration of European values, castigated emigre politicking, boldly held up an unflattering mirror to its countrymen, and detested platitudes. Its critical jibes were a thorn in the side of many an emigre; the special issue criticizing the post-war expulsion of the Czechoslovak Germans, for example, caused an uproar. Its editor-in-chief was the Slovak journalist Karol Belak, and its regular contributors included a number of distinctive emigre figures from around the world, for example the literary historians Peter Demetz (b. 1922) and Jiri Pistorius (b. 1922), the journalists Ferdinand Peroutka (1895-1978) and Pavel Tigrid (1917-2003), the writers Jan M. Kolar (1923-1978) and Jiri Karnet (b. 1920), the historians Jiri Kovtun (b. 1927) and Zdenek Dittrich (b. 1923), and the politician Jaroslav Stransky (1884-1973). It increasingly published translations of articles by non-Czechoslovak authors, including emigres from other central and east European countries. Its range of action expanded considerably, when the selection of articles from 'Skutecnost' began to be published in Czech, English, and German versions in 'Democratia militans'. In his discussion the author mentions the conflict that arose after Meda Mladkova (b. 1919), an art historian and collaborator of 'Skutecnost', took over its administrative work and moved the editorial office to London in 1951. He concludes by stating that this initiative of the young generation of emigres contributed to overcoming the sense of disappointment, apparent deadlock, and genuine lack of programme amongst the Czechoslovak emigres.

12

Vavro Šrobár a jeho podíl na vzniku agrární strany na Slovensku (1918–1922)

80%

Harna J.

Moderní dějiny: sborník k dějinám 19. a 20. století (Modern History: Studies into 19th and 20th century history)

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2009

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tom 17

|

nr 2

1-22

EN

Vavro Srobar entered politics as early as the turn of the 19th century hoping to contribute to an overall advancement of the Slovak nation oppressed in the Hungarian part of Austro-Hungary. He saw a solution to that situation in close contacts between Czechs and Slovaks; therefore, he supported the concept of one common 'Czechoslovak' nation. His political career culminated in the early period of existence of the Czechoslovak Republic. He was then a member of several governments of the new country. As a minister endowed with full administration powers over Slovakia he largely helped incorporate its territory into the Czechoslovak Republic. From the very beginning, however, his concepts were in conflict with those of Milan Hodza, another founder and leader of the Slovak agrarian movement. By 1921, both of them had succeeded in creating two organizations advocating the interests of Slovak peasants. In 1922, the two parties merged with the Agrarian Party, initially Czech, thus creating the nationwide Republican Party of Agrarians and Small Peasants, which was one of the main supports of the parliamentary democratic system in Czechoslovakia until the end of the First Republic.

13

VYSOKÁ ŠKOLA POLITICKÁ ÚV KSČ

80%

Dinuš P.

Studia Politica Slovaca: časopis pre politické vedy, najnovšie politické dejiny a medzinárodné vzťahy

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2008

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tom 1

|

nr 2

14 – 32

EN

Following the takeover of power in February of 1948, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia made efforts to streamline the system of its party and political education. Their ambition was to bring this system to a qualitatively higher level by offering political education of members of the CPCz through short-term courses organized by the party-political school of a college type. The institute was to provide activists of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and members of the Party elite with university education equivalent to that provided by state universities and colleges. This effort resulted in the establishment of the Political Institute of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, which developed its activity in the period of 1953-1990. The Political Institute of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (PI CC CPCz) was under the supervision of the CC CPCz in terms of content, personnel and economic management. From 1970, the institute’s position was that of a department of the CC CPCz. Initially, the institute was unable to provide education equivalent to state universities and colleges, even though it made every effort to that effect throughout the 1950. The problem was not so much that of the form (the structure of the institute and the education system) as that of the content, that is, the standard of the presented material. Some of the disciplines did meet academic criteria, but not until the 1960s. These were particularly humanities – Czechoslovak history and general history, the history of political theories, political science, social science, management theory to name a few. In the period of normalisation (after 1970) the element of learning by rote prevailed over the congitive element due to a stereotyped approach to the objectives of the educational process.

14

„Batismus, urychlená modernita a průkopníci práce“. Personální politika Baťova koncernu a řízené přesuny zaměstnanců v letech 1938–1941

80%

Marek M. , Strobach V.

Moderní dějiny: sborník k dějinám 19. a 20. století (Modern History: Studies into 19th and 20th century history)

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2010

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tom 18

|

nr 1

103-153

EN

The author deals with Bata Group's policy of dispatching large groups of staff abroad in the years 1938-1941, while considering some disciplinary practices of the discourse (batism) and the creation of standard employee identity. First, the structure of competence fields is explained and their main representatives are shown who co-decided on the selection of candidates and on the schedule of their transfer. Then, the most important criteria of candidate selection are discussed. The selection was also influenced by a number of other factors that determined the eventual form, program and destination of the transfer. The internal factors analyzed in the study include, in particular, the criterion of nationality or, more generally, of language (discourse of nationalism), while the most important external factors referred to immigration regulations and the capacity of means of transport. Last but not least, the motivation of staff members and their chance to have a say are explained.

15

1956. A WRITERS' CONGRESS WITH A DIFFERENCE

80%

Priban M.

Soudobé dějiny (Contemporary History)

|

2007

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tom 14

|

nr 4

707-718

EN

This article is a discussion of a lesser-known episode in the history of Czechoslovak emigres. In 1956, the year of the historically important Second Congress of the Czechoslovak Writers' Union, some of whose participants spoke out against the repressive aspects of Communist policy on the arts for the first time, a meeting of Czechoslovak emigre writers was held in Paris. It was organized by the Arts Council of Czechs Abroad, which was founded and run by the poet, literary critic, and publisher Robert Vlach (1917-1966). Called the 'Arts Council Congress', it was attended, for example, by Jan Cep (1902-1974), Frantisek Listopad (born Jiri Synek, 1921), Jaroslav Strnad (1918-2000), and Jan M. Kolar (1923-1978). The principal topics of the congress speeches and discussions were the starting point, possibilities, and position of the artist in exile (given by Pavel Zelivan, b. 1925, and Listopad), reflections on the most recent social, cultural, and political developments in Czechoslovakia (Jaroslav Jira, 1929-2005), and the possibilities and limits of communication with readers at home after the hypothetical return of emigres to their native country (a speech given by Cep). The congress sessions, the author argues, can reasonably be considered the height of work in the arts amongst the Czech emigres in the first half of the 1950s.

16

SOCIETY OF SAINT ADALBERT FROM THE END OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR TO THE CHANGE INTO A “SPECIAL PURPOSE FACILITY” (1945 – 1954)

80%

Katuninec M.

Historický časopis (Historical Journal)

|

2007

|

tom 55

|

nr suppl. issue

113 – 136

EN

The Society of Saint Adalbert (Vojtech) played a significant role in the religious and national life of the Slovak people for a long period of time. During World War II, it was at odds with the authorities, but managed to become a little more independent then in previous periods. The Democratic Party won the 1946 parliamentary election in Slovakia. This development was supposed to solidify the newly found independence of the Society of Saint Adalbert. Increases in publication rate and membership numbers were also encouraging this trend. After the Communist Party had taken power in 1948, the society fell on hard times. Its activities continued, but their scope was severely restricted and the Communist Party exercised strong control over them. People of the regime took over running the society, and prepared a new Charter in 1953. The society started to be defined as a religious institution without active membership, and the new Charter came into effect in 1954.

17

Nástup hraběte Jánose Esterházyho do čela maďarské Zemské křesťansko-socialistické strany v Československu na sklonku roku 1932

80%

Toth A.

Moderní dějiny: sborník k dějinám 19. a 20. století (Modern History: Studies into 19th and 20th century history)

|

2010

|

tom 18

|

nr 1

77-101

EN

The political life of Hungarian minority parties at the turn of the 1920s was marked by a generation conflict and a general crisis concerning their future political orientation. The first to accomplish a regeneration of its structures was the Provincial Christian-Socialist Party. The new political line of the Party was called for both by the politically engaged representatives of the younger generation of the Hungarian minority in Czechoslovakia and by the new government team in Budapest. Within the regeneration process in the top Party structures Count Janos Esterhazy, a new face in the political arena of the Hungarian minority who was just 31 years old, was elected to the top position in the Party.

18

Počátky exilové politiky Československé strany lidové. Adolf Procházka, Adolf Klimek a boj o Šrámkovo nástupnictví (1948-1953)

80%

Suchanek D.

Soudobé dějiny (Contemporary History)

|

2007

|

tom 14

|

nr 4

651-681

EN

This article traces the process of the organization of the Czechoslovak People's Party and its programme in the first six years in exile. It focuses on the power struggle and general relations among its leading figures and interest groups. The author points out that the victory of the Czechoslovak Communist Party (CPCz) in February 1948 meant a turning point for the People's Party. Robbed of the opportunity to carry out its policy freely it henceforth worked in the country under a new leadership within the 'revived' National Front as a satellite of the Communists. At the same time, however, a number of its members gradually joined in the resistance to the dictatorship, which often resulted in harsh repressive measures against them and the Party, and many of its pre-takeover functionaries and members left for the West. Similarly to the leaders and members of other democratic parties in exile, they built up a new party structure and tried to maintain continuity in their institutions and programme. These efforts were from the start, however, accompanied by internal disputes and competition amongst the individual would-be leaders. The intensity and persistence of the disputes were, argues the author, due to the fact that the People's Party, unlike the other emigre parties, was without its chairman and leading party authority, Msgr Jan Sramek (1870-1956), who had been arrested while trying to escape Czechoslovakia. The People's Party in exile soon began to split in two: on the one hand, the uncompromisingly anti-Communist right-wing critics of the idea of the National Front gradually created their own party platform; on the other, within the People's Party in exile there was a struggle over the orientation of the programme, the leadership, and the senior members, which took place among factions around the general secretary of the party, Adolf Klimek (1895-1990), and the former minister of health, Adolf Prochazka (1900-1970). The author discusses mainly the twists and turns of this conflict. Whereas Klimek represented the more traditional Christian-Socialist line in the spirit of Sramek, the intellectual Prochazka was inclined to modernize the party in the direction of the Christian Democrats. The balance of power between the two factions changed, but neither one gained the upper hand. The author argues that this situation very nearly paralyzed the People's Party. It caused a great exodus of rank and file members, weakened the party's position in the non-partisan emigre institutions (like the Council of Free Czechoslovakia) and made it impossible to push through the priorities of its Christian political programme. Towards the end of the article, the author endeavours to look behind the 'curtain of personal relations,' focusing on 1945-48 in order to elucidate the positions, alliances, and rivalries amongst the important political figures of the Czechoslovak People's Party, which clearly continued in exile.

19

THE FORGOTTEN 1911 OSKAR KOKOSCHKA EXHIBITION IN KARLOVY VARY

80%

Hlavacek P.

Umění (Art)

|

2007

|

tom 55

|

nr 4

329-335

EN

Oskar Kokoschka's close relationship to Bohemia is well known in the collective cultural consciousness of the land, as are Kokoschka's contacts with Czechoslovakia and his exile in Prague. However, little light has been shed on his early involvements with the Czech environment during the Austro-Hungarian period. In 1911 an exhibition was opened in Karlovy Vary of Kokoschka's work presenting a symbolic watershed between Kokoschka's departure from Berlin and his return to Vienna and therefore of a rather strange form of acclimatisation the artist went through upon returning to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Why Karlovy Vary? Sometime in 1909-1910, Kokoschka met Walter Serner in Vienna. This Jewish intellectual and Karlovy Vary native had studied law since 1909 at university in Vienna and took a lively interest in the literary and artistic life of the imperial capital. From 1909-1913, Serner published articles on the Viennese cultural life in the weekly Karlsbader Zeitung, which belonged to his father, Berthold Seligmann. He even had his own column in the weekly featuring original feuilletons titled Wiener Kunstbrief (1910-1911). Based on Serner's enthusiasm and his personal contacts in Vienna, the idea of organising an exhibition of Kokoschka's work in Karlovy Vary was born. The exhibition took place from 1 July to 15 August 1911 in the renowned Cafe Park Schönbrunn and Serner was its curator and chief organiser. The conservative public of Karlovy Vary reacted rather reservedly, as had been expected. Nonetheless, Serner had counted on this, and it was thus one of the first cultural provocations of this later co-founder of Dadaism, a cultural Bohemian who was to become a bold figure of the avant-garde culture of Weimar Germany.

20

Lev v kleci. Návrat Lva Sychravy z emigrace v roce 1955

80%

Pernes J.

Soudobé dějiny (Contemporary History)

|

2007

|

tom 14

|

nr 4

607-650

EN

Lev Sychrava (1887-1958) was an important Czechoslovak journalist, the only top-ranking exile to take advantage of the 1955 amnesty offered by the Czechoslovak regime to those who wished to return home. The author tells Sychrava's story with an emphasis on this particular aspect towards the end of his life. First, he discusses Sychrava as a 'Masaryk and Benes man', connected to the fate of the First Republic: from his start in politics in the Czech Progressive State Rights Party in Austria-Hungary to his time as an emigre during the First World War, where he became a close collaborator of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk (1850-1937), his short career as a legate in Paris, his career as Deputy Chairman of the Community of Czechoslovak Legionaries, from 1921, and particularly as Editor-in-Chief of the ex-Legionary daily 'Narodni osvobozeni' (National Liberation) from 1924. He remained in these posts till the German Occupation, which began in mid-March 1939. After the outbreak of war, Sychrava was interned in the Buchenwald concentration camp. After the Liberation in May 1945, he returned to his vocation, but remained there only till the Communist takeover. At the end of May he tried to emigrate, but was unsuccessful. A month later, however, he managed to leave the country with official permission. Once abroad he joined emigre organizations, and played an important part particularly in establishing the Edvard Benes Institute for Political and Social Studies, in London, in 1950, and in its subsequent work. At the same time, however, his views earned him the reputation among his fellow-emigres of being left-wing, and he found himself isolated. (Sychrava interpreted the show trial of Rudolf Slansky (1901-1952) and others, for example, as the victory of the Gottwald Stalinist line over the Trotsky line and as the arrival of democratic Socialism in Czechoslovakia). In 1952 Sychrava therefore inquired into the possibilities of returning home to Czechoslovakia. His efforts were more than facilitated by the amnesty for emigres to return home voluntarily, which was announced by President Antonin Zapotocky in May 1955. Operation 'Return', as it was called, was run by the State Security Forces (StB) with the aim of dividing and weakening the emigres. Sychrava took up the offer in December 1955. The author demonstrates that in returning home Sychrava fell prey to illusions about the regime and the possibilities of resuming his previous work in his homeland. The author describes the largely poor conditions Sychrava lived in as soon as the regime lost interest in him. Although he did not come out publicly against the emigres, the StB managed to use his one public meeting for their own propaganda purposes. Amongst the emigres, Sychrava's return to Czechoslovakia caused indignation, and his old friends at home treated him with scepticism, mistrust, and disdain, partly because, despite certain reservations, Sychrava in essence identified with Communist policy and made no secret of his anti-American sentiments. He ended up once again in social isolation, disappointed and embittered, and died of an illness in early January 1958.