Search results for ""Author Slavomír Michálek""

Text in German. Migration from the country -- this phenomenon can be found wherever there are undemocratic, generally unfree conditions. There are numerous examples and fates where fleeing the homeland was the only option, as in the Czech and Slovak history of the 20th century at the time of totalitarian regimes. In his present book, Slavomír Michálek deals with escapes from Czechoslovakia (ČSR) in the years 1948 to 1953. In doing so, he looks in particular at four hijackings of civilian aircraft and a passenger train and the subsequent "response of the communist hammer", the Czechoslovak State Security (tB ). The foreign political context associated with the kidnappings and the resulting consequences are also highlighted. With the takeover of power by the communist regime in the Czech Republic and as a result of its totalitarian character, the waves of flight began - people were fleeing in search of their salvation, their freedom and a new home. Refugees towards democracy, whether for economic, political or social reasons, characterized the entire 40-year existence of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. With his book, Slavomír Michálek offers an excellent introduction to a closer examination of the subject of flight and the causes of flight.

Read more less

Czechoslovakia played an important role within the Soviet bloc, yet its history remains under-researched. This monograph blends historical analysis of the superpowers foreign policies with an assessment of their impact on Czechoslovakia and its position within the Soviet bloc. The book thereby places Czechoslovakia on the map of Cold War history, i.e. the era of mutually assured destruction that lasted almost half a century. It provides a lucid introduction to some milestones in international Cold War history in their relation to Czecho-Slovak history. The books novel contribution is to explain Czechoslovakias domestic situation during the Cold War from the outside. Drawing on extensive source materials of Slovak, Czech, American, and Russian provenance, it provides a more comprehensive understanding of post-war Czecho-Slovak history while also contributing to general knowledge about the nature and impact of the Cold War.

Read more less

This book is a contribution to European comparative history involving Portugal and Slovakia, but also the larger geographic units of Iberia and Slavic Central Europe. While developments in Portugal and Slovakia predominate, Spain, the Czech lands, and other regions are discussed as well. The subjects investigated include the position of women and the activities of messianic thinkers in the seventeenth century as well as semi-fascist Catholic political movements in the twentieth century. The authors look at the subject matter from the viewpoint of politics, social phenomena, and culture. The cultural dimension includes religion and ideology, both of which have clearly been of critical importance in Portuguese and Slovak history. It also includes problems of ethno-linguistic and national identity and the more recent phenomenon of multiculturalism, whose social promotion is controversial and uncertain.

Read more less