Je možné cítit se Čechem i po půlstoletí života v zahraničí? Na uvedenou otázku odpovídá tato kniha, zabývající se českým exilem v Rakousku a Švýcarsku po roce 1968, a přibližuje, jakým způsobem se integrace československých uprchlíků v hostitelských zemích odrazila ve vnímání jejich národní identity. Autor vychází z analýzy archivních a orálněhistorických pramenů získaných během terénních výzkumů mezi českými krajany ve zmíněných zemích v letech 2011 a 2015. Rozbor materiálů se kromě popisu jednotlivých aspektů integračního procesu soustředí i na vysvětlení změn v identifikaci bývalých uprchlíků s českým národem. ,Is it possible to feel as a member of a nation after living half a century in a foreign country? This book, which deals with the Czech exile in Austria and Switzerland after 1968, answers the question and describes how the integration of the Czechoslovak refugees in the host country has displayed in their perception of nation identity. The monography is based on archival and oral sources acquired during field research in Austria and Switzerland conducted from 2011 to 2015. The analysis focused on the description of the process of integration of newcomers in the host countries as well as on the understanding of changes in identification of the former refugees with the Czech nation.
The fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 meant the cardinal breaking point for states in Central Europe which affected their diaspora in the same way. The Czech exile was not an exception. Some of its representatives came back to Czechoslovakia during the Velvet revolution and the most of its members returned to the country in 1990. The memories of the first re-entry to their former motherland constituted an important part of their life-stories. Did the "first-encounter" with freed Czechoslovakia influence their decision to come back permanently? The paper is based on the archival and oral sources which were obtained during field research in the Czech communities in Austria and Switzerland. The sources often described a process called "reverse culture shock" which formed unknown yet important chapter of the Czech exile in the second half of the 20th century.
The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia caused thousands of people fleeing the country to the West. In spite of hard times at the beginning of the immigration, most of the refugees have been able to accommodate to the new conditions and build up a career and new life. This study deals with the Czech communities in Austria and Switzerland after 1968. The author uses the content analysis of the periodical press and recorded interviews to describe the Remembrance Culture of members of the communities. The main research question of the paper is whether the year 1968 (which is the milestone in the Czech history) plays any role in collective consciousness of the Czech exile.