In its first part, the present article presents the role of Peter Geiger as an historian and as cochairman of the Liechtenstein-Czech Commission of Historians. PD Dr. Peter Geiger has been the co-chairman of the Liechtenstein-Czech Commission of Historians for the last ten years. Between 2010 and 2020, he was one of its basic building blocks. In the commission, Associate Professor Geiger dealt mainly with the modern history of Liechtenstein and selected aspects of Liechtenstein-Czech relations. He prepared a crucial article on how frequently Czechoslovak and Czech topics figured in the pages of the Liechtenstein press, and thus what impression the ordinary citizen of the Principality of Liechtenstein could form of the original homeland of their princes. In the context of his research into Liechtenstein continuities and discontinuities, he again described the transformation of Liechtenstein from a somewhat marginal territory within the Liechtenstein states into the centre of life of the princely family. Peter Geiger's professional interest in the Liechtenstein-Czech Commission of Historians was divided between the history of the family and the history of the country and its inhabitants, especially in the area of property gains and losses. He therefore wrote two fundamental studies on the topic of the "Liechtensteins, Liechtenstein and Czechoslovakia in the 20th Century". The first of these deals with the efforts of the Liechtenstein family from 1938–1945 to regain and save the property they lost in connection with the so-called first land reform. Geiger's articles on the expropriation of Liechtenstein citizens living in Czechoslovakia after 1945 can thus be considered a fundamental topic. In the second part of the article, other contributions are then thematised and contextualised; these included in this "Liechtenstein" volume of the Studia Historica Brunensia journal.
The present article presents the text of a lecture given by Her Serene Highness Maria-Pia, Ambassador of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the Czech Republic, on the occasion of the "Days of Liechtenstein History in the Czech Republic" organized by the Czech-Liechtenstein Commission of Historians on 9 November 2019 at the Moravian Museum, in the Historical Hall of the Dietrichstein Palace in Brno. The lecture dealt with the position of the Principality of Liechtenstein in the contemporary world, including the legal status of Liechtenstein, issues of its involvement and involvement in international institutions, as well as selected issues on Czech-Liechtenstein relations. As the author puts it, Liechtenstein is today a prosperous country that offers its citizens social, economic and political stability. It is a country with a fully functioning labour market, a sustainable and healthy environment, a free space in all respects and with real opportunities for political participation. The text also outlines the basic characteristics of the political, constitutional and economic systems of Liechtenstein. In further sections, she then deals with some historical factors that have led to the current position of Liechtenstein in Europe and in the world. This mainly concerns the beginnings of Liechtenstein statehood, which is traditionally associated with the purchase of the Vaduz and Vaduz counties and Schellenberg territories by the Princely House of Liechtenstein in 1699/1712, but also, the ongoing impact of events from the Second World War. In Liechtenstein at that time there was a relatively strong pro-German group called the "Volksdeutsche Bewegung", but almost 95 percent of the population was in favour of maintaining independence from the Third Reich. Following the year 1945 property of citizens of Liechtenstein was seized in Czechoslovakia, something which is still understood as an unresolved question in Liechtenstein. The motto of Liechtenstein is: For God, Prince and Fatherland! Although this might sound old fashioned, it has become the motto of the success of modern Liechtenstein, a monarchy with strong civil rights. A country in which a prince with vision has successfully sought to persuade the second sovereign, the people, when necessary. A country in which people are aware of their democratic rights, also actively pursuing them and understanding work as the core of their social DNA. A country where the government is ready to take on unpopular issues and to propose solutions that are acceptable to the people. It is not a land of miracles, but is still a successful and modern country in the middle of Europe, worth living in and connected to Europe in every way.
In a lecture given at the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University in Brno as part of the "Days of Liechtenstein History in the Czech Republic" event, former Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the Czech Republic Ferdinand Trauttmannsdorff presented two projects by the Czech-Liechtenstein Commission of Historians. The first concerns the publication of „Fürstenhaus Liechtenstein – Böhmische Länder – Fürstentum Liechtenstein. Ad honorem Thomas Winkelbauer", which was published in the Studia Historica Brunensia journal. Authors from the Czech-Liechtenstein Commission of Historians have published a series of articles dealing with various aspects of the history of the Liechtenstein family and their ties to the Czech Lands, the history of the Principality of Liechtenstein, as well as with some more general topics from European history. The second topic presented was the publication of an English language version of the commission's "Summary Report of the Czech-Liechtenstein Commission of Historians", entitled "Czech-Liechtenstein Relations. Past and Present". The author of the lecture emphasized in particular the passages devoted to the places of Liechtenstein's memory and the construction of various historical stereotypes typical of Czech-Liechtenstein relations over the long run. He also emphasized some of the chances that, in his opinion, an improvement in Czech-Liechtenstein relations and the resolution of issues still considered as unresolved could bring in the future not only to both countries involved, but also to Europe as a whole.