Czechoslovakia

Between Two Homes: Crossing the Borders of a Divided World Through the Personal Accounts of Czechoslovak Seafarers (1970s–1980s)

Krátká, Lenka

This study examines the professional mobility of former Czechoslovak seafarers, focusing on their perceptions of freedom and also its constraints during times when this fundamental right was severely restricted by the authoritarian regime. Although the broader context covers nearly forty years of communist rule, the paper concentrates on the 1970s and 1980s, with the primary sources being direct interviews with seafarers, complemented by archival materials.

The Optation of 1945–1947 in the Collective Memory of Residents of the Slovak-Ukrainian Localities in Transcarpathia

Ižák, Štefan

The present study offers an examination into how residents of the mixed Slovak-Ukrainian areas of Transcarpathia recall the optation process of 1945–1947. As most respondents did not experience the event directly, any knowledge obtained was derived primarily from intergenerational narratives passed down by parents and grandparents. This paper explores how the optation is remembered today and which interpretations and versions are maintained within the collective memory of the studied communities.

Hungarian Expellees and Refugees relocated from Czechoslovakia to Hungary (1945)

Tóth, Ágnes

The present study looks at Hungarian expellees and refugees from Czechoslovakia who migrated to Hungary in 1945, focusing specifically on the Hungarian government’s refugee policy and its implementation.

Building and Testing Trust Within a Socialist Dictatorship: The Case of Czechoslovak Experts in Africa Pre- and Post-1968

Buzássyová, Barbora

This article explores the foundations of trust between Czechoslovak state bodies and experts selected for foreign service in Africa. The focus is on the means through which this trust was challenged during long periods of separation from socialist ways of life, ways which were reinvented after the systemic political changeover in Czechoslovak administration after August 1968.

An Unequal Alliance: Social Scientists as Experts in Socialist Czechoslovakia

Sommer, Vítězslav

This article examines the role of social scientific expertise in socialist Czechoslovakia. The first section centres on the 1950s, when the new social sciences that helped build the institutions and rules of the new regime were established. The roles of social scientists as experts are analysed during the reform era of the 1960s and the so-called consolidation regime of the 1970s. In the final part of this text, the 1980s are characterised as a period when the unequal alliance of the social sciences and the socialist state fell apart.

“As Mr. Schwarz is not Jewish, we are unable to handle this case.” Elements of (Un)Success in Overseas Emigration from Post-war Czechoslovakia

Hyrja, Jozef

Through the case study of the Schwarz family, this paper illustrates the complex relationship between an individual and institutions as well as the question of mutual trust—and mistrust—in the emigration process. The Schwarz family’s attempt to emigrate from Czechoslovakia with the assistance of intermediary organizations provides a wealth of insight into the (dis)function of a state and its administration after the war and during a time of defining the country’s approach to specific minority groups.

Trust in the Church Hierarchy among the Underground Church Community in Post-1968 Slovakia

Šústová Drelová, Agáta

In the post-1968 era, trust in the official hierarchy among the catholic faithful was far from guaranteed. With the church hierarchy under tight state control and effectively existing on two levels—officially and “underground”—the levels of trust fluctuated and its character changed. Trust was constructed, challenged and negotiated.

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