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Czech BooksThe prison poet: remembering Ivan Martin Jirous
Last month was the end of an era in Czech poetry. The man who practically
embodied the poetic underground of the 1970s and 80s, Ivan Martin Jirous
– alias Magor, or Loony in English – died at the age of 67. Not only
was Magor one of best Czech poets of his generation, but also the driving
force behind the underground rock scene. He embodied the longing for
rebellion and freedom, as so-called “normalization” sucked the air out
of Czech and Slovak society. In Czech Books, David Vaughan talks to one of
Magor’s close friends and associates. More
Current AffairsCzech underground legend Ivan Martin Jirous dies aged 67
One of the legends of the Czech underground, poet Ivan Martin Jirous, died
in Prague on Thursday at the age of 67. Ivan Jirous, or Magor – literally
“the crazy one” as he was affectionately called by his friends – was
perhaps best-known as the artistic manager and spiritual leader of the
underground band The Plastic People of the Universe, but this eternal rebel
was also a sensitive, contemplative poet and master of the Czech language. More
Czech HistoryEmanuel Moravec – the face of Czech collaboration with the Nazis
Some figures are cast as heroes and others as villains. Emanuel Moravec -
the face, voice and main force behind Czech collaboration with the
occupying Nazis during WWII - unmistakeably belongs to the latter category.
For his actions he became dubbed ‛the Czech Quisling’ – a reference
the more famous Norwegian collaborator. In this week’s Czechs in History,
Chris Johnstone explores Moravec’s complex character and path to
collaboration. More
From the ArchivesCzechoslovakia’s Second Republic: a vain attempt to put the pieces together
The six months leading up to the German occupation of Bohemia and Moravia
in March 1939 were a strange period. After Germany, Poland and Hungary had
annexed over a quarter of the country’s territory as a result of the
Munich Agreement in September 1938, it was hard to see how the rump
Czechoslovakia – the so-called “Second Republic” - could keep going.
But Radio Prague’s shortwave broadcasts continued, and not surprisingly
they focused on sustaining the much shaken international confidence in the
country. Here is the famous Czech professor and scholar of English
literature, Otakar Vočadlo, talking in November 1938. More
From the ArchivesAfter Munich: Czechoslovakia left to her fate
In recent weeks, I’ve tried to capture something of the tense atmosphere
of the time leading up to the Munich Agreement of September 30 1938, when
the British and French Prime Ministers Chamberlain and Daladier allowed
Hitler to carve up Czechoslovakia and march unopposed into the Sudetenland.
The agreement left the country as a fragment of its former self; not only
Germany, but also Hungary and Poland, claimed large chunks of
Czechoslovakia’s borderlands. Here is how Radio Prague reported on the
final border agreement, reached some weeks after Munich was signed. The
scale of the loss is huge. More
From the ArchivesWarnings of Hitler's ambitions go unheeded
We quite often hear it said that in the run-up to World War Two, no-one
quite realized the scale of the threat that Nazi Germany posed in Europe.
When Hitler set his eyes on Czechoslovakia, there were plenty of
politicians in Western Europe who really seemed to believe him, when he
said that the Czech borderlands, the so-called Sudetenland, were his
“last territorial claim”. But Czech Radio’s archives show only too
clearly, that here in Prague there were also plenty of people who were only
too aware of the worldwide menace that Hitler posed. As Britain and France
pursued their policy of appeasement towards Germany, these were voices
that, tragically, remained unheard. More
From the ArchivesThe people make their voice heard
One of the most dramatic - but least known - events in Czechoslovak
Radio’s history dates back to September 21 1938. This was the day that
the government announced that it was willing to succumb to German pressure,
and would give up large areas of the country’s borderlands to Nazi
Germany. By this time it was clear that Britain and France would not be
willing to fight for Czechoslovakia’s territorial integrity, and that to
say no would mean invasion. The announcement sent a shockwave through Czech
society, and immediately thousands took to the streets in protest. More
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