http://radio.cz/en Latest articles on 'Czechs abroad' - issues of concern to Czechs overseas en Fri, 04 May 2012 00:00:00 +0200 Fri, 04 May 2012 00:00:00 +0200 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Radio Prague CMS 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Radio Broadcasting cr@radio.cz (Cesky Rozhlas) webmaster@radio.cz (CRo Webmaster) http://radio.cz/en/section/arts/remembering-adolf-toman-one-of-the-founders-of-torontos-new-czech-theatre The Nové divadlo (New Czech Theatre) was established in the Canadian city of Toronto in 1970. Since then it has enjoyed several high points: the great actor Jiří Voskovec appeared in one production, Josef Škvorecký wrote a play for the amateur group and it staged the world premiere of the Czech language version of Václav Havel’s Temptation. In 2010, the New Czech Theatre received an award from the Czech Foreign Ministry for its work in promoting the good name of its founders’ native country. Sadly, Mr Toman passed away in the Czech Republic last summer at the age of 69. Here is another chance to hear his interview about the the Toronto theatre with Ian Willoughby. Fri, 04 May 2012 00:00:00 +0200 urn:uuid:d603586b-079b-58d2-beca-1908af0fd2d5 http://radio.cz/en/section/czech-history/antonin-cermak-from-czech-miner-to-chicago-mayor You might not recognise the name straight away, but Antonín Josef Čermák - a miner’s son from Kladno, Central Bohemia - is one of the most famous Czech-Americans to have ever lived. Anton (or Tony) Cermak became mayor of Chicago at the height of prohibition, overhauled Democratic Party politics in the city, and was then assassinated in the most mysterious of surroundings. All quite dramatic for someone who started his career selling firewood… Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:21:40 +0200 urn:uuid:0bb2bf06-7981-5a22-9f11-c185c40fa4f8 http://radio.cz/en/section/one-on-one/jan-kaplan-operation-anthropoid-more-appreciated-as-years-go-by As part of an exhibition linked to the 70th anniversary of the Lidice massacre in June, Prague's Dox Centre for Contemporary Art is currently hosting a video installation by the London-based Czech documentary maker and editor Jan Kaplan entitled 10:35. The name refers to the time of day that the operation to assassinate the Nazi governor of Bohemia and Moravia – which preceded the Lidice atrocity – reached its climax in a Prague suburb on May 27, 1942. The UK-based Czechoslovak paratroopers who carried out the attack later met their deaths in a church in the city. Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:18:24 +0100 urn:uuid:6f396f23-82a0-5d0e-a1e5-78edaf292bcd http://radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/rybas-czech-christmas-mass-premieres-in-chicago It has taken more than 200 years for Jakub Jan Ryba’s Czech Christmas Mass to come to Chicago, but it seems that good things come to those who wait. The Ryba Mass was premiered in the Windy City on Saturday and Rosie Johnston was there. Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:07:12 +0100 urn:uuid:79ebd56b-b7c8-5350-8d94-74c6b2c71346 http://radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/introducing-the-texas-czech-heritage-and-cultural-center-in-la-grange The city of La Grange in Texas, historically a major site of Czech settlement, remains to this day a hub of Czech culture. Those who want to stay in touch with the local Czech community or would like to trace their roots can visit the Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Center located in city. Besides offering research facilities, the center also organizes various events – most recently a gala where old Czech bands were honored earlier this month or an exhibition of nativity art which has just opened. Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:06:06 +0100 urn:uuid:1539f639-c495-51a2-b36d-7da00d64bf3b http://radio.cz/en/section/special/eva-jirankova-a-remarkable-life In today’s Special our guest is the charming Eva Jiránková, born in 1921 to a notable Prague family in the early years of the First Republic. As a junior, Jiránková was a competitive skier and as a young woman she graced the covers of popular Czech magazines – something of a charmed life. But that all ended in September 1942 when her husband, Miloš Jiránek, was arrested by the Gestapo, and spent the next years in internment and concentration camps. Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:01:00 +0100 urn:uuid:ac85049d-7590-54a9-a2e3-a19613794bed http://radio.cz/en/section/special/laureates-of-gratias-agit-award-on-the-significance-of-their-czech-heritage Every year in October the Czech Republic honours those who have contributed significantly to promoting the country’s good name abroad. This year, Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg bestowed the annual Gratias Agit awards on thirteen personalities from around the world to thank them for their work. On occasion of the country’s national holiday we bring you the thoughts and experiences of three Czechs who live abroad, but who never severed ties with their homeland and are proud of their Czech roots and national heritage. Fri, 28 Oct 2011 02:01:00 +0200 urn:uuid:938292a9-0004-56f1-bf0e-0c0ed00f540c http://radio.cz/en/section/one-on-one/freddie-botur-retired-ny-tennis-entrepreneur-with-deep-czech-roots Freddie Botur, who was born Vratislav Botur, fled Czechoslovakia in 1948, shortly after taking part in a student march to Prague Castle aimed at preventing the Communists from seizing power. The ambitious young émigré eventually ended up in New York, where he became a successful developer and owner of tennis clubs, including the well-known Tennisport on the banks of the East River. Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:24:53 +0200 urn:uuid:156a1b76-fcb1-5529-adfe-ee4eeab714f0 http://radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/foreign-ministry-honours-promoters-of-good-name-of-czech-republic Since 1997, the Czech Foreign Ministry has been honouring those who promote the good name of the Czech Republic abroad with the annual Gratias Agit awards. Last Friday, October 14, Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg handed out the awards to thirteen personalities from around the globe to thank them for their outstanding work. Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:43:47 +0200 urn:uuid:412e2a30-2c13-5fa8-ba20-19249e1533ae http://radio.cz/en/section/one-on-one/eva-eislerova-czech-designer-who-reached-top-of-jewellery-world-in-nyc The Czech artist and designer Eva Eislerová originally wanted to be an architect. Instead, she became one of the most highly regarded makers of art jewellery in the world, after emigrating to New York in the 1980s with her half-Czech, half-English husband, John Eisler. Today Eva Eisler, as she is known to her collectors, spends most of her time back home in Prague, where she teaches at the metals department at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design. Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:36:33 +0200 urn:uuid:03203743-aaf3-5771-a86e-b64b20533b4b http://radio.cz/en/section/panorama/new-york-czech-centre-head-pavla-niklova-czech-films-are-the-biggest-attraction The heads of Czech cultural centres from around the world gathered in Prague last week to share ideas and make plans for the future. I met up with Pavla Niklová – head of the Czech centre in New York to talk about the kind of events that are organized and how popular they are with the public. Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:01:02 +0200 urn:uuid:2e4db24f-9b27-570e-9311-0acac9295586 http://radio.cz/en/section/panorama/czech-expats-from-around-the-world-come-to-dobruska-to-connect-with-their-heritage Every summer the north-east Bohemian town of Dobruška turns truly cosmopolitan, opening its doors to Czech language students from around the world. The Czech language summer school organized by Charles University lasts for a month and is specially tailored for Czech expats and people who have developed an interest in the Czech language and culture. Thu, 25 Aug 2011 16:49:30 +0200 urn:uuid:366c06f5-edad-52c9-9e8a-c75badbed5e2 http://radio.cz/en/section/one-on-one/veronica-hyks-the-past-is-not-always-a-foreign-country Although she was born in Britain and has never lived in the Czech Republic, the actress and broadcaster, Veronica Hyks, is every bit as Czech as she is English. She speaks Czech without a hint of an accent, and gives every impression of being totally at home in Prague, even though it has never been more than her “virtual” home. Veronica Hyks tells David Vaughan how this came about in this week’s One on One. Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:57:50 +0200 urn:uuid:944c6cab-7c66-536c-b54b-96eae30c7a7d http://radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/debate-over-masin-group-reignites-following-resistance-fighters-death The death of Ctirad Mašín in the US on Saturday at the age of 81 has reignited debate in the Czech Republic over whether he and fellow anti-Communist fighters, who shot their way out of Czechoslovakia in the 1950s, were heroes or cold-blooded killers. While some see their escape as one of the most daring in Cold War history, others say they tarnished their moral integrity through their actions. Tue, 16 Aug 2011 15:14:12 +0200 urn:uuid:a6bc7174-54d9-5ad2-9b93-867987cf95b2 http://radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/chernobyl-disaster-led-to-return-of-almost-2000-ethnic-czechs This Tuesday marks 25 years since the shock of the Chernobyl disaster, when Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine exploded, sending previously unseen quantities of nuclear contamination into the air. A radiation cloud spread over Russia and Central and Western Europe, with the first reading of the disaster registered more than 1,000 kilometres away in Sweden. To date Chernobyl is still considered the world’s worst nuclear accident, leaving whole villages and cities in the area abandoned. What is less known is that in the early 1990s almost 2,000 ethnic Czechs left their homes in Ukraine over health fears to be repatriated in Czechoslovakia. Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:45:44 +0200 urn:uuid:5d32c1e8-18e6-591f-969b-60214b0bd383 http://radio.cz/en/section/panorama/harry-pollak-the-man-who-saved-aston-martin-1 When Harry Pollak left Czechoslovakia for France in the autumn of 1938, he had no idea what the future would hold for him. As a teenager, he joined the exile Czechoslovak army fought the Nazis who murdered his family, before fleeing his country again after the communist coup of 1948, and build a career in England from scratch. Mr Pollak gives an account of his extraordinary life in his recently published memoirs. In this edition of Panorama, we talk to Harry Pollak about how a boy from a south Bohemian village ended up saving the famous British car-maker Aston Martin. Thu, 03 Mar 2011 13:10:25 +0100 urn:uuid:35ca29f8-ca50-5294-8034-be3fa33345de http://radio.cz/en/section/books/gail-naughton-and-the-czech-books-of-iowa-1 If you want to find out more about the long history of Czechs and Slovaks in the United States, the place to start is The National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The museum was devastated by floods in 2008 and some 6,000 flood-damaged volumes from the library are still being painstakingly restored. But the pace of recovery has been remarkably fast, and within the next couple of years, an ambitious project to rebuild and expand the museum should be complete. With it the library will also be up and running once again. In Czech Books this week, David Vaughan finds out more about the library’s rich collections. Sat, 19 Feb 2011 02:01:00 +0100 urn:uuid:df9b6a7d-ec3a-54be-a639-e7dda9f5d530 http://radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/former-czech-settlers-ask-for-compensation-for-their-property-taken-away-by-ussr A group of Czechs whose ancestors once settled a region in today’s Ukraine, only to come back empty-handed after the Second World War, are now asking the Czech government for help. They would like to get at least partial compensation for their long-gone property. But Czech officials say they cannot help, so the case might end up at the European Court for Human Rights. Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:29:23 +0100 urn:uuid:bfe9cd12-165f-5a60-8940-d831dc7c5699 http://radio.cz/en/section/special/good-king-wenceslas-meets-the-beatles-on-the-feast-of-stephen A good few years ago I used to live in a tiny flat in an old house called the Mouse Hole, which was just off the ancient street that runs along the bottom of the park below Prague Castle and the cathedral. In winter I used to go out to the park to collect kindling to help get my sluggish coal-fired stove to draw. On one occasion it had been snowing heavily and I traipsed out through deep drifts. Ever since then I have always had a very specific picture in my mind of the Victorian carol about the Czech patron Saint, the tenth century Prince – or King - Wenceslas. I like to imagine the Good King standing at one of the windows of the castle looking down and spotting the poor man in the snow – in this case me – struggling with an armful of branches. Sun, 26 Dec 2010 02:01:00 +0100 urn:uuid:13c673d6-253a-5182-959c-1bdfe9a24a0d http://radio.cz/en/section/panorama/harry-pollak-the-man-who-saved-aston-martin When Harry Pollak left Czechoslovakia for France in the autumn of 1938, he had no idea what the future would hold for him. As a teenager, he joined the exile Czechoslovak army fought the Nazis who murdered his family, before fleeing his country again after the communist coup of 1948, and build a career in England from scratch. Mr Pollak gives an account of his extraordinary life in his recently published memoirs. In this edition of Panorama, we talk to Harry Pollak about how a boy from a south Bohemian village ended up saving the famous British car-maker Aston Martin. Thu, 16 Dec 2010 17:00:22 +0100 urn:uuid:9a19d330-18f3-5dd8-96ba-b2762eb79c24