Vzpomínka na rok 1989. Ze sbírkového fondu Jihočeského muzea v Českých Budějovicích

The goal of this study was to remind people of the period immediately following 17th November 1989. We wanted to point out the importance of previously overlooked museum collections in documenting our development, and draw attention to museums as a source of learning and knowledge. It was interesting to view the equipment and items used by students and the Civil Forum when addressing the public and promoting their ideas – posters, leaflets, film shots, various three-dimensional items, and also the technical equipment that strike committees used during their work. The second important part of the study was analysis of three speeches by Mojmír Prokop, spokesman of the Civil Forum in České Budějovice, during the course of the first half of November and the beginning of December 1989 – we saw the impression his speeches gave (how they reflected the changing society-wide situation), his emphasis of various topics and their selection. The process by which these people became members of power structures, how they were co-opted into national committees on all levels and also into the Federal Assembly, was also interesting.

Státní kalendář jako pilíř první československé republiky?

The First Czechoslovak Republic had a distinctive impact on Czech and Slovak historic awareness, despite its relatively short duration. One of the reasons for this was the elaborate system of state symbolism, for instance state holidays. This article focuses on the genesis of origin of the system of state holidays, its implementation within the terms of everyday or annual “operation” and finally also on its reception in a multi-national state. The systém of state holidays was represented chiefly by the date of celebration of the birthday of President T. G. Masaryk (3 March), the First of May, the date of the anniversary of the Battle of Zborov (2 July), the Feast of Jan Hus, the feasts of Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius and also Saint Wenceslas, and particularly the 28 October, which was the date the republic had been established.

„Slovník“ aneb Vídeňský učitel v roli pašeráka exilové literatury

The arrival of the occupying armies in August 1968 and the subsequent normalisation purges resulted in an unusually large wave of emigration. The regime responded to this by closing state borders in October 1969. The great number of refugees brought new stimuli to activities in exile, such as establishment of new exile periodicals and publishing houses, which contributed to preserving independent Czech literature. Some of the books produced by publishing houses in exile were always intended for readers in Czechoslovakia, where they were transported using various smuggling routes. A new smuggling channel was created in 1983 – the so-called Austrian route – by agreement between Jiří Pelikán and Vilém Prečan. They used the code word “dictionary” for this route when communicating with each other. The “dictionary” was a large passenger car, which Jiří Pelikán authorised Adolf Müller to purchase and which was modified by experts from the American secret service who created a secret compartment for transporting books and periodicals in the luggage space. Vilém Prečan and Josef Jelínek then came up with a way to fill the compartment. Young teacher Helmut Bachmann, took receipt of the car from V. Prečan in Vienna. He was talked into collaborating by Jana Stárková. Bachmann drove the car to Czechoslovakia as a tourist roughly once every three months and Jiřina Šiklová organised receipt of the consignments in Prague. The compartment was created so cleverly that the Czechoslovak border control forces were unable to find it, even after thoroughly inspecting the car for forty minutes, something that occurred in March 1984. This transport channel, financed by Jiří Pelikán, was used from the summer of 1983 until the end of 1987, when the car was taken out of operation.

Josef Plojhar a rok 1968. Konec jedné ministerské kariéry

Catholic priest and chairman of the Czechoslovak People’s Party, and supreme functionary of the Board of pro-regime organisations (e.g. long-term vice-chairman of the Association of Czechoslovak Soviet Friendship), Josef Plojhar, was a distinctive figure in the political world of Communist Czechoslovakia during the first twenty years of its existence. He was one of the historically longest serving ministers of health and spent an unbelievable twenty years and one month in this position. He survived a number of political upheavals and purges within the terms of post-February Czechoslovakia. All this makes him an indisputably interesting figure, who has been neglected by previous historic research. This study is about the end of the climactic political career of this Catholic priest and chairman of the Czechoslovak People’s Party, who was Minister of Health from 1948 to 1968. His political downfall came about in connection with the Prague Spring in 1968.