Czechoslovakia

Milan Štefánik: Slovak Astronomer and Aviator

Many know the life and legacies of Tomáš Masaryk and Edvard Beneš, two Czechs who helped to found Czechoslovakia. However, there was a third person who played a very important role in the founding of the country: a Slovak named Milan Štefánik. Before he participated in the founding of Czechoslovakia though, he was first an astronomer and aviator.

Radio Revolution

Radio Revolution

Radio and its revolutionary effect on the world

Karel Zeman: Czech Film Director and Animator

Legendary Czech film director, screenwriter, artist, and animator, Karel Zeman is known for creating fantasy and science fiction films.

Tomáš Masaryk and the United States

Tomáš Masaryk, first president of Czechoslovakia, was inspired by the freedom and democracy of the United States. While negotiating for Czechoslovakia’s independence, Masaryk developed not only political relationships, but also personal and intellectual ones with the United States.

Warsaw Pact

Warsaw Pact

Created on May 14, 1955, the Warsaw Pact, also known as the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation, and Mutual Assistance, was a collective of Eastern European countries prompted by West Germany joining NATO in the Paris Agreement in May 1955.

Oldřich Kulhánek and the Czech Koruna

Oldřich Kulhánek was a Czech artist and critic of the Communist Regime best known for his work on designing the current Czech banknotes.

A History of Czech Feminism

The once egalitarian, agrarian society of Bohemia became ruled by the Hapsburg Dynasty, causing a regression in women’s rights until Christianity helped improve their lives. The National Revival brought the creation of Czechoslovakia and greater rights for women. When communism came, rights improved in some ways and did not in others. The change to a capitalistic democracy brought further changes.

Karlovy Vary Film Festival

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, or KVIFF, hosts about 200 films from around the world and is the oldest film festival. Located in Karlovy Very, Czech Republic, the film festival is held annually in July and is the most prestigious festival in Central and Eastern Europe, boasting a popular feature film competition.

Gender Roles under Communism

Under Communist leadership, Czechoslovakia held that women’s emancipation was equal access to the workforce and increased educational and social reforms, but they failed to address the issues of housework, gender roles, and women’s political presence.

Czech Cubism (Cubo-Expressionism)

The term Cubo-Expressionism was coined in the early 1970s to describe Czech avant-garde art in the 20th century, when elements of Cubism and Expressionism were combined. It was a revolt from earlier art forms with spiritual elements.

Dagmar Šimková (1929-1995)

Dagmar Šimková was a political prisoner during the communist repression. She suffered a long prison sentence and was able to pursue her education and help others in the prison system later in life.

Meda Mladkova

Meda Mladkova was a patron of the arts who helped support Czech artists stuck behind the Iron Curtain. She trained to be a dancer but decided to leave Czechoslovakia after witnessing how terribly the Germans who remained in the country were treated at the end of the Second World War.

The Forced Exile of Refugees

The Forced Exile of Refugees

From the Bolshevik Revolution to the Invasion of Ukraine, the Czech Republic has been a haven for refugees for over 100 years.

Hana Podolska: The "Coco Chanel" of Czechoslovakia

Hana Podolska was “the” fashion designer of the 1930s and 1940s in Prague. Her gowns and garments could be seen in well-known films worn by famous actresses, many magazines, and popular political figures.

Jaroslava Brychtova (18 July 1924 – 8 April 2020)

Jaroslava Brychtová and Stanislav Libenský’s partnership of almost 50 years birthed some of the defining sculptural and architectural installations of the 20th century. They used their art as a form of political resistance and were inspired by early 20th-century Czech Cubism and metaphysical philosophy to work with abstraction.

Edvard Beneš (28 May 1884 - 3 September 1948)

Edvard Beneš (28 May 1884 - 3 September 1948)

The Complicated Foreign Affairs of the Early 20th Century

The Czech Response to the American Civil Rights Movement

The Czech Response to the American Civil Rights Movement

American Civil Rights Movement as Communist Propaganda