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One on OneMike Ostler: the Bata reminiscence and resource centre in East Tilbury
East Tilbury on the Thames estuary in Essex is a piece of the old
Czechoslovakia planted in England. It was here in 1933 that the Zlín-based
shoe empire Bata opened its first English plant. As well as the factory,
the company also constructed its own small town for workers following the
Czechoslovak model. The plant lasted until 2006, but in many respects it is
still carries on. The Bata estate and factory have been designated a
conservation area. A reminiscence and resource centre was opened in 2002 to
serve as a sort of museum and focal point for the memories of this unique
community. We spoke to centre leading light Mike Ostler about its
operation, the continued links between Essex and South Moravia and why he
became involved in the first place.
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Current AffairsHistory of British secret service uncovers Czechoslovak infiltration success
An official history of the British counter intelligence and security
service MI5 has come up with some revelations about the work of the
Communist Czechoslovak secret police. One of them is how it recruited
agents among British Labour Party MPs. One of its biggest catches was a
colourful and ambitious junior minister.
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PanoramaGreat WWII pilot Karel Kuttelwascher remembered by his home town
On September 1, the world remembered the outbreak of the worst conflict in
history. For Czechs, however, the war started earlier than September 1939.
By the time Nazi troops stormed Poland and France and the UK declared war
on Germany, thousands of Czechs had already left their country, ready to
join the fight against the Nazis. One of them was Karel Kuttelwascher, who
became a famous night fighter with the RAF, and the most successful Czech
fighter pilot of the war. Recently his daughters came from England and
together with the people of his native town marked the 50th anniversary of
Karel Kuttlewascher’s death.
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Czech Books“The Chamberlain Effect”: When did World War Two really begin?
The 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War Two this week will pass
almost unnoticed in the Czech Republic. The reason is simple. For Czechs
and Slovaks the tragedy did not begin with the invasion of Poland, but a
full year earlier. With the Munich Agreement of September 1938, Britain,
France and Italy gave Hitler the green light to annex huge tracts of
Czechoslovakia and less than six months later, Nazi troops marched into
what was left of the Czech lands unopposed. So how did Hitler get away with
bringing a determined and well-defended democratic country under the sway
of the swastika, while Czechoslovakia’s allies stood by? The British
historian and politician, David Faber, has tried to answer this question in
his book, Munich: The 1938 Appeasement Crisis, which focuses above all on
the role of the British political establishment, in particular Prime
Minister Neville Chamberlain. This is the most detailed account of the
events leading up to Munich to be published for several decades, and an
American edition is due out this month. I caught up with David Faber in
London, and we discussed some of the many aspects of a book that deserves
to become a classic.
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