Archived materials of the month

A Czechoslovak Archivist in East Africa

A Czechoslovak Archivist in East Africa

Přidáno: September 10, 2021

When I started two months ago we had no idea about the condition the archive here was in. Now I know a little more … The headquarters are in a small house in the town centre … Not only…

Two Destinies that Went through the Fire

Two Destinies that Went through the Fire

Přidáno: July 12, 2021

Court files from the collection of the former so-called Study Institute of the Ministry of the Interior No. 141, German courts in the „Reich“, went a long way after they had been created. Nowadays they belong to the most…

All My Compatriots

All My Compatriots

Přidáno: June 4, 2021

All My Compatriots, or the Case of František Slimáček The 1960s saw a breakthrough in the Czechoslovak cinematography. It was initiated by the arrival of the new young generation of filmmakers, graduates of the Prague Film Faculty of FAMU…

“Normalisation” of Music

“Normalisation” of Music

Přidáno: May 4, 2021

In the time of the so-called “normalisation of society” in Czechoslovakia, the life of musicians in some particular genres was far from easy. To have a permit for public performances, one had to meet certain regulations: to do the…

Under the Watchful Sight of an Archangel

Under the Watchful Sight of an Archangel

Přidáno: April 6, 2021

Negatives or photographs lodged in the Security Services Archive in the collections of the Surveillance Directorate do not record just the people who were the so-called “objects” that were kept under surveillance by the State Security, but unintentionally also…

Bubník Suspected

Bubník Suspected

Přidáno: March 5, 2021

Vlastimil Bubník, a remarkable sportsman-amphibian, who celebrated his success in international ice hockey as well as in football, a hard-to-believe combination for today’s sports world, would be 90 this March. His personality was connected mainly with Brno, where he…

A North Korean Spy

A North Korean Spy

Přidáno: February 1, 2021

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was not a member country of the Warsaw Pact or the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance; still, the Czechoslovak communist regime perceived it as “friendly” and “brotherly”. Nonetheless the activities of the North…

The Intoxicating Karlsbad

The Intoxicating Karlsbad

Přidáno: January 6, 2021

In course of 1982 the surprised spa guests in Karlovy Vary could see, in the flowerpots in the spa colonnade and in other public spaces, plants of marihuana and cannabis. The historical testimony of this is hidden in the…

State Security in the Mountains

State Security in the Mountains

Přidáno: December 2, 2020

The State Security was interested – among others – in Jehovah’s Witnesses. During the surveillance of the members of this religious society, the operatives of the 4th department of the Regional Directorate of the SNB in Banská Bystrica spent…