By the end of the Greek Civil War (1946–1949), about 50,000 Greeks had fled to Eastern Europe. The complex conditions of this massive exodus have been thoroughly discussed by historians and social scientists. However, much less is known about the conditions under which a large number of political refugees eventually returned to Greece. The few available studies on the repatriation of such refugees have shown that returning home was a more complicated and demanding process than adjusting to a "host" country. Repatriation was the primary desire of the majority of Greek refugees. However, as the years in Czechoslovakia passed, the hopes of free repatriation diminished. What the refugees were most fearful of was dying in a foreign country, away from their homeland and relatives, something they considered to be a "double death". Thus, some refugees expressed a "last wish" that at least their bones would be taken back home. The work I present here concerns the difficulties that this kind of repatriation faced. I attend to the meanings as well as the hopes and fears attached to the notion of "home" as a place of origin to which one yearns to return.
After World War II, the declaration of the independent Jewish state started to be discussed again by the international community. In these days, Czechoslovakia supported the Zionist movement/Israel in new-born organization of United Nations, and also provided an unofficial assistance to the Zionist movement through the arm supplies as well as military training to chosen Jewish volunteers. This cooperation was not immediately cancelled after the February coup in 1948 when the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia got a total dominance over politics of the country. In the long run, however, the communist rule in Czechoslovakia led to the growing tension in relations with Israel. Within next few year the mutual cooperation of both states was over and the mutual relations were close to the open hostility. One of the aims of this paper is to introduce the reasons that led to a shift of Czechoslovak attitude towards Israel, as well as the impact of these changes in the international context.
The aim of this text is a summary of the conceptual work of Czechoslovak institutions in the field of cultural relations with France in the years 1960–1968. Based on the analysis of the most basic conceptual materials from those years, the author tries to evaluate the development and changes of the official concept of cultural policy of Czechoslovakia to France in the Novotny regime and during the Prague Spring and its ideological and other background as well as the real impact on the actual conduct of cultural relations.
The contribution will focus on the philosophical conception of cultural and national identity of Erazim Kohák and journalistic thinking of the history of Pavel Tigrid in 20th century. In both cases, the aim is to find the concept of national identity. Kohák formulated his concept clearly and peculiarly in the book Hearth and Horizon (2009), Pavel Tigrid somewhat indefinitely in the book Pocket Guide of an Intelligent Woman After Her Destiny (1988). Both authors were political exiles after February 1948. In terms of opposition to the Communist regime, Kohák and Tigrid represent not only prominent figures, but also a sample of diversity, which was characterized by anti-communist exile.
This paper focuses on both Masaryk's theoretical concepts and practical endeavours to establish independent democratic sates in Central Europe after World War I. Masaryk's ideas developed from his theoretical knowledge, his knowledge of history, as well as from his political experience as a parliamentary deputy. At the centre lay his belief that the existence of nations as multilayered, integrated entities was an important condition for the development of democracy, provided that smaller nations were respected by larger ones and would be given sufficient space and autonomy to develop properly. The general acceptance of democratic and humanitarian values and principles would guarantee an end to the traditional expansionism of larger nations at the expense of the freedom, standards and dignity of smaller nations. Attention is also focused on Masaryk's extensive activities during the First World War regarding the independence of democratic states in Central Europe.
The following contribution deals with the Czechoslovak-Yugoslav relations in education and training, particularly in the period between the world wars. The article outlines the development of relations with the focus on activities related to public awareness which were formerly organized by the Czechoslovakian-South Slavic League.
The paper deals with the religious situation in Czechoslovakia in the 1960's and the possible applications of council changes within the so-called Prague Spring.
The article concerns itself with the evolution of the perception of the affiliaton with the "old country" among the Bukovina Slovaks before 1947, and namely with the retrospective construction of the myth of the preservation of identity in abroad post reemigration to Slovakia in 1947.
This article examines the sense of a crisis of Christian faith in the wartime correspondence of Rudolf Ohlbaum (1912–2006), doctor of philosophical sciences and former active member of the German Catholic youth movement Staffelstein, which was renowned for its efforts to integrate Christianity and nationalism. The author attempts to consider what caused this intimate sense of a loss of faith and whether it might possibly be interpreted as a consequence of the change in political regime in the years 1938/1939, or the ideological influence of national socialism.
At the moment of the outbreak of the First World War, Liechtenstein was in a fundamental sense dependent on Austria. The consequences of the war were therefore very difficult for Liechtenstein. They affected both the economy and the political sphere, where calls for new political and civil rights can be noted. After the end of the war, this led to the issuance of a new constitution (1921) and also to a new direction in foreign policy. This was also followed by a redirecting of economic relations towards Switzerland (currency, 1924 Customs Union Treaty). At the same time, Liechtenstein sought a way out of the economic crisis in new legislation (Personengesellschaftsrecht 1926).