The aim of the current paper is to assess the Bulgarian reflections on T. G. Masaryk's death in 1937. I am going to apply the theoretical approach of the German historian Reinhart Koselleck, who asserted that the "political cult of the dead" should be explored in a certain historical context and the commemoration of the "dead hero" was intended to reconstruct historical events and images. Therefore, before approaching my main objective, I will make a brief overview of the Bulgarian image of TGM in the context of the Bulgarian-Czechoslovak political relationship during the interwar period. I rely mainly on Bulgarian and Czechoslovak periodical press as well as on archival sources, published documents, and secondary literature, related to the subject. In my case study the periodical press assumes the role of intercultural communication and a mechanism of constructing cultural and national stereotypes.
This study is a contribution to the lively discussion over the past twenty years comparing the ideas formed by T.G. Masaryk, Friedrich Naumann and M. Hodža during the First World War. The author mainly focuses on comparing ideas from their key well known publications (Masaryk's The New Europe, Naumann's Mitteleuropa, Hodža's Federation in Central Europe). He states that all three politicians agreed that Europe in the future had to be democratic, but their specific ideas about its character and about the importance of nation states differed. Naumann's plan was to create a democratic Central Europe under German leadership, which Masaryk and Hodža refused outright.
This study examines the role which the Cyril-Methodius tradition played in the 19th and early 20th century in religious, national and political developments in Moravia. It takes as its starting point Masaryk's criticism of the Young Czechs' demand for the introduction of a Slavonic liturgy. It tries to answer the question of whether this criticism was justified, whether it had a wider relevance than merely that of the historical period and whether it was also relevant for Moravia. The study shows that throughout the 19th century the Cyril-Methodius idea was used both by the church (unionism) and by national and political groups and even political parties. The Moravian Young Czechs used their demand for Slavonic worship, albeit unsuccessfully, in the election campaign against the Catholic parties in 1900–1901. Masaryk's criticisms proved to be justified and to a certain extent were even prescient, as Masaryk gave supporters of political Catholicism the right to use the Cyril-Methodius idea, and following their establishment Moravian Catholic parties fully adopted this idea.
The article treats of the discussion of democracy in the Czech intellectual context of the first half of the 20th century. Its starting point is the thesis that the nature of this discussion is determined by two clearly defined types of approach. One of them understood democracy as the concerning the general level which alone enabled free discussion and the dignified life of citizens (E. Beneš, E. Rádl, F. X. Šalda, F. Peroutka, K. Čapek and others). The second approach is an attempt to found democratic social-political practice on reflected philosophical theory. This conception is represented by T.G. Masaryk and J.L. Fischer. Masaryk is the “ontotheologian” of democracy which is, for him, an expression of the active presence of Providence in history. J. L. Fischer is the “onto-epistemologist” of democracy. He understands democracy as the realisation of the hierarchical Order of Reality, interpreted along the lines of structural functionalism. For Masaryk a crisis of democracy is ex definitione impossible, for Fischer it is a real threat because “pathological structures”. In both cases, however, there is an attempt to legitimise everyday reality by Transcendence.
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.
Editovaný nevelký soubor 21 (respektive 22) kusů korespondence historika J. V. Šimáka s prezidentem T. G. Masarykem, jeho kancléřem Přemyslem Šámalem a Kanceláří prezidenta republiky z let 1919-1931 dokládá povahu vztahu osobností, které se v rovině odborné i osobní míjely, ale v rovině státně politické a společenské se nemohly zcela opomenout. Korespondence obsahuje jak úřední tak osobní dopisy (osobní dopisy psal ale pouze Šimák, nikoliv Masaryk) a dobře ilustruje fungování Kanceláře prezidenta republiky. Dokládá Šimákovo postavení v historické vědě, jeho nelehkou pozici univerzitního profesora nového oboru (historické vlastivědy československého státu na Karlově univerzitě) a jeho stálý zřetel k podpoře vlastivědného bádání i osvětové práce., This modest edited collection of some 21 (or 22) items of correspondence between the historian Josef Vítězslav Šimák and President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, his Chancellor Přemysl Šámal and the Office of the President of the Republic between 1919 and 1931 illustrates the nature of relations between these figures, who at a professional and personal level only crossed paths, but who at the state-political and the social level could not entirely ignore one other. This correspondence contains both official and personal letters (though only Šimák, not Masaryk, wrote the personal letters) and clearly depicts operations at the Office of the President of the Republic. It also demonstrates Šimák's standing in historical studies, his awkward position as a university professor in a new field (Czechoslovak state historical ''homeland'' studies at Charles University) and his ongoing interest in support for homeland studies research and public education work. (Translated by Melvyn Clarke.), and Překlad resumé: Melvyn Clarke
This paper examines Masaryk's central notions concerning the importance of religion in the life of individuals and societies. It also looks at Masaryk's view of the difference between the official dogmatic Christianity of the Catholic Church and early Christianity, which according to Masaryk remained the best thing that religion offered due to its non-dogmatic nature, its emphasis on morality and its marked rationality. Masaryk also made important connections between basic Christian principles and the struggle for democracy and social justice.
The study deals with the historical evolution of the normative appraisal of the 28th of October, 1918, within Czech historiography and politics. The author tackles the perspective of direct participants in the context of the "argument over credits", structuring the political discourse of interwar Czechoslovakia. The paper then concludes with an overview - how was the topic of the 28th of October presented in Czech historiography after 1989. and Článek zahrnuje odkazy pod čarou
This essay is a response to the discussion paper by Daniela Tinková on Enlightenment and vernacularization. The author welcomes the approach that sees Enlightenment as a debate, since to see it as a battle is to confuse logical truth with fiction. It should be said, however, that Tinková’s model attributes an active role only to the elites, and overstates the idea of the disappearance of the state. In the 18th century we may not have had a national state, but we did have a state. A common fallacy among Czechs regarding the timing and mechanism of the emergence of the National Revival is to ignore that state and consequently espouse the unrealistic thesis that the national agitation arose among a free people in the repressive period preceding March 1848. They also fail to appreciate the importance of the constitutional monarchy post-1861, when for the first time Czechs were able to engage in free political debate. As a result it was not until the late 19th century that a belated Czech Enlightenment took hold, inspired largely by France and Scotland. Home-grown Enlightenment traditions had by then been forgotten.
This study looks at the origins of Masaryk's work 'The New Europe' (A Slavic Standpoint) and provides a critical analysis of it from the perspective of the situation during the First World War and immediately after.