Related articles
From the Archives“Business as usual” after the 1948 coup
In the immediate aftermath of the political coup in Czechoslovakia in
February 1948, the communists were keen to give the world the impression
that it was business as usual and that nothing out of the ordinary had
happened. In this respect Radio Prague as the international service of
Czechoslovak Radio was expected to play its part, and so the communists
asked the handful of British nationals working for one of
Czechoslovakia’s biggest companies to make a statement in English for the
radio. As a result one of the British staff of the shoe-making giant Baťa,
which had already been nationalized more than two years earlier, addressed
Radio Prague’s listeners on March 1 1948, exactly a week after the
communist coup: More
SpotlightZlín - the town that Baťa built
In this edition of Spotlight,we visit the south-east Moravian town of Zlín,
a city famous for its footwear and film industries as well as for its rich
heritage of folk culture and traditional music. More
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.
More
From the Archives“Business as usual” after the 1948 coup
In the immediate aftermath of the political coup in Czechoslovakia in
February 1948, the communists were keen to give the world the impression
that it was business as usual and that nothing out of the ordinary had
happened. In this respect Radio Prague as the international service of
Czechoslovak Radio was expected to play its part, and so the communists
asked the handful of British nationals working for one of
Czechoslovakia’s biggest companies to make a statement in English for the
radio. As a result one of the British staff of the shoe-making giant Baťa,
which had already been nationalized more than two years earlier, addressed
Radio Prague’s listeners on March 1 1948, exactly a week after the
communist coup:
More
Current AffairsCzech-born shoe magnate Thomas J. Baťa dies at 93
The famous Czech-born industrialist Thomas J. Baťa has died in Toronto,
Canada, just a few weeks short of his 94th birthday. Mr Baťa was the
former head of one of the world’s biggest footwear companies, first
founded by his father in Zlín in Moravia in 1894. News of his death
brought immediate reaction from around the world including in his native
Czech Republic, which Mr Baťa visited often – the last time just this
summer.
More
Current AffairsPrague court overturns 1947 verdict against "shoe king" Jan Antonin Bata
Prague's Municipal Court reopened a controversial post-war court case on
Monday when it overturned a 60-year-old verdict against one of the
founders of the Bata shoe empire. In 1947, a judge sentenced Jan Antonin
Bata - half-brother of the company's original founder Tomas Bata - to
fifteen years' imprisonment for failing to support the anti-Nazi
resistance, a
charge his family has always vehemently denied. More
MagazineMagazine
Tomas Bata goes back to his roots to celebrate his 92nd birthday. Who has
the longest handle-bar moustache in the Czech Republic? And - a contest in
speed swimming for tropical fish! Find out more in Magazine with Daniela
Lazarova.
More
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