Archive: History | Czech Radio history Czech Radio history
Olga Szántová: the voice of Radio Prague
It was five years ago this week that our much-loved colleague, Olga
Szántová, died at the age of 71. As a child she had spent most of World
War II in New York, which was where she picked up her perfect East-Side
English. Olga became one of the most familiar voices of Radio Prague’s
English broadcasts during the political thaw of the 1960s, and she was also
among the radio journalists who managed to carry on broadcasting secretly
during the Soviet invasion of 1968, as several recordings from the time
still bear witness. More
Radio Prague marks 75 years on air
Set up in 1936 primarily as a tool to counter propaganda from Nazi Germany
and the Soviet Union, Radio Prague itself long served as a mouthpiece for
communist propaganda. Since the 1990s however, the station is the only
Czech public news service, providing information about the Czech Republic
in six languages to audiences around the world. Marking Radio Prague’s
75th anniversary, the Czech-born, UK-based writer, and former Radio Prague
reporter Benjamin Kuras and Radio Prague’s own David Vaughan discuss the
most interesting moments in the station’s history. More
Radio Prague listeners send well-wishes on Radio Prague’s 75th birthday
Of course, Radio Prague would not have turned 75 if it wasn’t for our
loyal listeners. We would like to thank you for your support and interest
over the years, and for the many anniversary emails you have sent in. On
the occasion of our 75th anniversary, we did something we usually don’t
do – we called some of our listeners from around the world. Here’s one
of them, Stan Schmidt. He listens to Radio Prague from Evansville, Indiana,
in the United States.
More
November 1945: homeward bound
In November 1945, six months after the end of World War II, the units that
had taken part in liberating Czechoslovakia began their official
withdrawal. Various ceremonies were held, first on November 15, to say
farewell to the Red Army troops, who had fought their way in bitter
fighting through Slovakia all the way to Prague. Then a few days later, on
November 20, the withdrawal began of the American units that had liberated
Western Bohemia. More
Prague Uprising: “Do not let Prague be destroyed!”
In last week’s From the Archives we heard about radio’s central role in
the Prague Uprising against the German occupation at the end of World War
II. Not only did the signal for the uprising to begin come over the air,
but the radio also helped to co-ordinate the fighting. It also played a
third role. At the time the Red Army was already approaching Prague from
the east, and General Patton’s Third Army was in Plzeň just a few dozen
kilometres to the west. Many of those fighting in the streets of Prague
were untrained and had few weapons, and the scale of the German resistance,
especially the SS units, took many by surprise. The radio appealed to the
Americans, British and Russians for help. More
“Calling all Czechs!”: the Prague Uprising begins
“Calling all Czechs! Come quickly to our aid! Calling all Czechs!” It
is May 5 1945, and with these words Prague radio appeals to Czechs to join
the uprising against the German occupation. This was to be one of the last
European battles of World War Two and the greatest moment in the history of
Czechoslovak Radio. For some time radio staff had been working secretly
with the Czech underground to prepare the ground for the uprising. Their
radio appeal marked the beginning of the battle. In the confusion of the
following three days with street battles going on around the city, radio
was to play an important role, and the radio building also became the focus
of much of the fighting. On some recordings that survive you can still
clearly hear gunfire in the background. More
A bizarre speech by an ailing president
The wartime president of occupied Bohemia and Moravia, Emil Hácha, is one
of the saddest figures of Czech twentieth century history. An elderly
academic, he only agreed reluctantly to become head of state after Edvard
Benes resigned over the Munich Agreement in 1938. He made the tragic
mistake of remaining in office when Hitler marched into the country six
months later. Hácha’s hopes of preserving at least some of his
country’s independence were gradually worn down, and as his health
failed, he eventually became nothing but a puppet of the Gestapo. More
The nurse who treated the Führer
During the wartime occupation, German-language broadcasts from Prague were
absorbed into the radio network of Nazi Germany, the so-called
“Reichssender”. A number of archive recordings in German survive from
the time. Most vivid and chilling among them are the long lists of names
broadcast each day of Czechs arrested and executed. But there are also some
propaganda curiosities. In June 1941, Prague’s German programme
interviewed a nurse. She was living and working in the city, and remembered
with great nostalgia one particular patient who had come into her care.
This is how the broadcast began: More
Radio under the Swastika
In last week’s From the Archives, we heard how German troops marched into
Prague on March 15 1939. The next day, Edvard Beneš, who had resigned as
Czechoslovakia’s president in the wake of the Munich Agreement, and was
in exile in London, told Britain’s Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
that from now on, he would be leading the resistance against the German
occupation. Five months later, war broke out and at the end of 1939 the BBC
began its broadcasts in Czech. More
Commemorative ceremony at Czech Radio building marks 66th anniversary of Prague Uprising
A now famous appeal broadcast from the Czech Radio building on May 5, 1945,
sparked the Prague Uprising. After hearing it on the air, thousands of
people took to the streets to fight the Nazi oppressors. On Thursday,
several events were held to mark the 66th anniversary of the start of the
Prague Uprising, including a ceremony in front of the Czech Radio building. More
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