Martin Nekola. "Cold War Czechoslovakia and Exiles in the U.S." Lecture

Czechoslovakia was liberated from the Nazis in May 1945, and was soon subjected to sovietization and the rising dominance of the Communist regime, which lasted for more than four decades, after the complete takeover in February, 1948. Thousands of Czechs and Slovaks (up to 300 000 in 1948-1989), who sought the return of freedom and democracy to their homeland, left. First, they found themselves in the so-called displaced persons camps in Germany and Austria, where their first periodicals were published and the first seeds of political activity were planted. Almost seven dozen newspapers, magazines and newsletters, and nearly two hundred Czech institutions, including political organizations, parties, academic clubs or thinktanks, operated in the free world after 1948, above all in the U.S. But despite such a promising start and international support, the Council of Free Czechoslovakia, established in Washington D.C. as an umbrella organization for this community of exiles, writhed in crisis and fell apart, until it revived years later. As time passed, the atmosphere in exile changed, bringing new topics, new challenges, and new leaders. Dr. Nekola will discuss these and other aspects of the Czechoslovak Cold War exile, with a focus on the American context.

Martin Nekola holds a Ph.D. in political science from the Charles University in Prague. His research is on non-democratic regimes, the era of Communism, Czech communities abroad and the East-European anti-communist exiles in the U.S. during the Cold War. From time to time, he participates in the election observation missions organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). He is a member of the Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) and author of more than three hundred articles and dozens of book-length projects. He is also the coordinator of the Czechoslovak Talks Project.