http://www.radio.cz/en Remarkable people and events in the history of the Czech Lands. en Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:28:22 +0200 Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:29:18 +0200 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Radio Prague CMS http://img.radio.cz/logo_100.gif http://www.radio.cz/en 100 55 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Radio Broadcasting cr@radio.cz webmaster@radio.cz http://www.radio.cz/en/article/130849 The Czechoslovak legions occupy an almost legendary place in Czech history. They comprise the armed forces that fought during and after World War I on the allied side in pursuit of an independent Czechoslovakia. The biggest force, and most potent myths, centre on the Russian force, which became embroiled in the civil war, spending three years and travelling thousands of miles before returning home. We look at the myths and facts about their exploits. Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:28:22 +0200 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/130849 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/130011 The name Jaroslav Preiss does not create many ripples when it is thrown out today. Perhaps one Czech in a hundred could identify who he was. But at the birth of Czechoslovakia and in the 1920s and 1930s, Preiss was an economic and business colossus and contributed to making the country into a major industrial player between the wars. Chris Johnstone looks at the life of the controversial figure. Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:20:51 +0200 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/130011 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/128553 In Part I of last week’s Czechs in History we focussed on Czech adventurer and ethnologist Alberto Vojtěch Frič’s journeys to South America, where he befriended the Chamacoco Indians in Paraguay. At the end of his third journey, in 1908, he learned to his dismay that the Chamacoco were being decimated by a mysterious illness. Through a curious mix of circumstances, he ended up bringing one of them, the son of a tribal leader named Cherwuish, back to Prague and they soon became good friends. A burden of responsibility for the South American, however, lay heavily on the ethnologist and it was of utmost importance to find a cure for his illness. Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:11:21 +0200 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/128553 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/128278 Alberto Vojtěch Frič was a Czech botanist, ethnologist and traveller, who earned fame in Bohemia, Europe, and parts of South America in the early 20th century. His first love from childhood was botany but early after his first travels to South America, his professional focus shifted from plants to the lives of indigenous peoples. During his excursions, he befriended the Chamacoco Indians at Gran Chaco in Paraguay, and on his third visit, learning that the tribe was being decimated by an unknown illness, brought one of them, Cherwuish (the son of a tribal leader) back for treatment to Prague. Wed, 26 May 2010 13:28:10 +0200 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/128278 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/127390 One of Prague’s best known German-language authors was Egon Erwin Kisch, who was born in the Czech capital 125 years ago this Thursday. His excellent style and original choice of stories, together with his dramatic life, earned him a reputation of the ‘Raging Reporter’ that is still very much alive today. Wed, 28 Apr 2010 17:01:38 +0200 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/127390 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/126485 For all the funny people who have contributed to a century of Czech filmmaking, the title “King of Comics” belongs to only one. Vlasta Burian would be 119 years old next month, and he would be very proud of his reputation indeed, still a star of the Czech television screen today. But his career as a comedian went hand in hand with the tragedies of the 20th century, and in his lifetime he was a pauper, a prince, and a pauper again. Wed, 31 Mar 2010 15:07:38 +0200 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/126485 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/125599 Much of the tapestry of old Czech history and the fundamental legendry of this country is known to us today thanks to the labours of one wise old man. His name was Cosmas of Prague, he died almost 900 years ago, but today his name is known as well or even better than some of the kings who he immortalised in writing. Cosmas of Prague set the foundation on which Czech historiography was built when he recorded all he knew about his nation in its first annals, the Chronicle of the Bohemians. Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:15:25 +0100 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/125599 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124248 To his many Nobel Prize-winning colleagues, Georg Placzek was a physicist of boundless importance. It was not because of a breakthrough discovery on his part, or because he published widely, but because he tended to be the man with the right wits at the right time. At Los Alamos, New Mexico, on July 16th, 1945, he was the only Czech present for the detonation of the first nuclear explosion – an event he had helped to create. Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:28:58 +0100 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124248 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/123378 Archbishop, later Cardinal, Josef Beran, become a symbol of opposition to totalitarian regimes. He was dubbed the archbishop who refused to be silenced. The punishment for speaking out was imprisonment first under the Nazi occupation and then the Communists. In this week’s Czechs in History we look at Josef Beran’s exemplary life on the 40th anniversary of his death in exile. Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/123378 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/122545 Karel Kramář earned his place in history as the first prime minister of Czechoslovakia. But his political career spanned more than four turbulent decades. We look at a life than included a death sentence, assassination attempt and birth of a new state. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:46:45 +0100 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/122545 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/120767 The first two names always given at the top of the pantheon of Czech classical music are Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana; the third is invariably Leoš Janáček. Probably the most innovative of the three, Janáček likely lags behind the famous duo only because even today, 80 years after his death, musicians, musicologists and music lovers are still reassessing those innovations, which took classical music into uncharted territory. Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:56:15 +0200 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/120767 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/119187 In 1947, at the age of 42, Eduard Ingriš had already lived what most would call a full life. He was one of Czechoslovakia’s foremost composers, with several hundred pieces to his name. He had been composing since he was 15 years old, and he was a rich man. His musical “The Capricious Mirror” enjoyed 1,600 performances in Prague, a record untouched even on Broadway. As it turns out though, his life was just getting started. Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:27:35 +0200 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/119187 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/118062 Czechoslovak top Communist Rudolf Slánský is a tragic figure of 20th century history in the classical sense of the word. In the end the fate of the once powerful and self made man was mapped out elsewhere as he became a victim of the state security system he helped create. Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:36:00 +0200 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/118062 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/117157 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. Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:17:31 +0200 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/117157 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/116219 The Hittites Empire dominated a swath of the Near East for some 600 years in ancient times. It was a vastly precocious civilisation with better tools, more modern methods of warfare, and the newfangled commodity of iron. As is the way with empires however, the Hittites collapsed and all that the great trading civilisation had recorded of its world was left in oblivion until a Czech orientalist deciphered their forgotten language and became the first to hear their words in 3000 years. This week’s Czechs in History by Christian Falvey is devoted to the Father of Hittitology, Bedřich Hrozný. Wed, 13 May 2009 15:25:38 +0200 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/116219 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/115117 Before the Second World War, the Czech capital was home to several ethnic groups – the Czechs, the Germans, and the Jews. Their co-existence in the modern era was often a source of conflict that only deepened after the 1918 foundation of Czechoslovakia. The question of identity in the multi-ethnic environment posed considerable challenges for leading intellectuals of the time; among them was the Prague writer, journalist and composer Max Brod. In this edition of Czechs in History, we talk to the Prague-based French historian Gaelle Vassogne, the author of “Max Brod in Prague: Identity and Mediation”. The book – only available in German to date – focuses on the role of one of the most significant personalities of the time during the fist decades of the 20th century. Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:16:01 +0200 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/115117 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/114329 Many countries have had famous war animals, one remembered in Great Britain this year was Antis, an Alsatian belonging to Czech airman Václav Robert Bozděch. 60 years ago, in 1949, the animal was awarded the PDSA Dickin medal, the eqivalent of the Victoria Cross, for bravery and outstanding service during World War II. The dog and his owner, part of a six-man crew, flew more than 30 bombing missions over occupied Europe and Nazi Germany, evading formidable German defences, always lucky to make it back. As his and his owner’s fame grew, Antis went from being a valued mascot for his crew, to a symbol of courage for all in the RAF. Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:56:14 +0100 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/114329 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/112695 In this edition of Czechs in History, we look back at the life and work of Ester Krumbachová, an artist, costume designer, screenwriter, and one of the most important personalities of the Czech New Wave. Although her name is somewhat forgotten today, she was a major inspiration to the leading filmmakers of the 1960s, such as Věra Chytilová, Jan Němec or Vojtěch Jasný. Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:18:07 +0100 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/112695 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/112440 In this edition of Czechs in History, we take a look at the controversial legacy of Jan Palach. This young Czech history student shocked the world after setting himself on fire in the centre of Prague in protest at the Soviet-led invasion of communist Czechoslovakia in 1968, which crushed the democratic reform movement known as the “Prague Spring”. Wed, 21 Jan 2009 13:13:31 +0100 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/112440 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/112215 Václav Havel is known as the first president of the Czech Republic, an anti-communist dissident, and a playwright. A new exhibition, which opened in Prague on Tuesday, presents Mr Havel in yet another role – as inspiration for poets from the unofficial Czech culture of the 1970s and ‘80s. Entitled “We had the Underground, Now we Have F-All”, the exhibition features texts by underground Czech poets about Václav Havel. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:31:05 +0100 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/112215