Dissertation deals with the question if the first Czechoslovak Republic had signs of semipresidential regime. The theoretical part deals with the theoretical definition of parliamentary, presidential and semi- presidential system. The practical part is divided into several parts, which dealt with the institution of the president of Czechoslovakia and its role in the political system and the characteristics of the Weimar Republic. The presidential term TG Masaryk focuses on the constitution of the head of state and its real political influence on the formation and activities of governments. The thesis also examines the status of Edvard Benes as President of the Republic at the time of the Munich crisis and February 1948, including his time in exile government. The study of the Weimar Republic, focused on the position of Reich President and compares it with the Czechoslovak head of state. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Dissertation deals with the question if the first Czechoslovak Republic had signs of semipresidential regime. The theoretical part deals with the theoretical definition of parliamentary, presidential and semi- presidential system. The practical part is divided into several parts, which dealt with the institution of the president of Czechoslovakia and its role in the political system and the characteristics of the Weimar Republic. The presidential term TG Masaryk focuses on the constitution of the head of state and its real political influence on the formation and activities of governments. The thesis also examines the status of Edvard Benes as President of the Republic at the time of the Munich crisis and February 1948, including his time in exile government. The study of the Weimar Republic, focused on the position of Reich President and compares it with the Czechoslovak head of state. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

The thesis, 'Marriage in the period of normalisation: Stories of Women who got married between 1970 and 1989', focuses on the wedding rate in Czechoslovakia during normalisation period, 20 years after Soviet occupation. The analysis is done in the context of governmental family and population politics and endeavours of normalisation regime to support marriage and natality rate. The present study describes measures which the government introduced in the 70's and their justification. The focus falls also on the influence of demographic behaviour and how this behaviour was unique and exceptional during normalisation period. The whole study is based on the fact that personal testimony of narrators can contribute to an understanding of the human aspect of our history. The qualitative research method used was oral-historical interviews recording the experience of 6 women. The study analyses their decision making factors to enter the institution of marriage, what was young families' economic situation and how they perceived and exploited state support system for young families. This thesis helps understanding women in this specific period of normalisation as well as the period itself, given the fact that in the 70's and 80's the betrothed couples were the youngest and marriage rate was the highest in the...

This work examines the prosecution of the Roman Catholic Church in the Communist-ruled Czechoslovak Republic. The first part analyzes the mutual relationship of the communist ideology and the Roman Catholic Church. The basic tenets of communism are presented via the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and consecutive texts labeled Marxist- Leninist. The thoughts of the church are presented through the statements of several popes that took a stand against the ideals of communism and the atrocities committed in their name. The second chapter analyzes the individual steps the Communist-controlled state took against the church. Particular attention is devoted to the period from the February 1948 Communist takeover up to the end of the 1950s. This period can be further divided into three phases, distinguished by the differing tactics employed by the Communist Party. In the first phase, the Communists were attempting to subdue the church, the second phase was characteristic by very ruthless prosecution of the church officials, while the hallmark of the third phase was mainly a systematic policy of atheization. The aim of this work is a comparison of the ideological underpinnings of the Communist ideology with the real-world practice of the attempted elimination of religion from society. Focus is...

Using the concepts of social imaginary (C. Castoriadis), social representations (S. Moscovici), Eigen-Sinn (A. Lüdtke) and tactics (M. de Certeau), this thesis answers the question of whether in people's democratic Czechoslovakia (1945-1960) came into existence, or was coming into existence, what could be called a "socialist night." The problem is addressed as in the domain of imagination and narrative as well as in the domain of everyday experience of night at the time when Czechoslovakia had ambition to establish a new economic, political and social order after the end of the World War Two. The first symbolical step in the process of creation of new Czechoslovakia was the end of the war and was proclaimed to be completed in July 1960, when the Socialist Constitution was adopted. The question is addressed with the use of analysis of audiovisual sources, media, administrative, legislative, technical-statistical and police sources. Other applied theories are also the concept of governamentality (M. Foucault), the mass culture (W. Benjamin, T. Adorno, M. Horkheimer) and the legitimate dominion (M. Weber).

The dissertation deals with sport swimming in the Czech lands and in Czechoslovakia in the interwar period, specifically in the period of the so-called First Republic. However, the work dates back to the beginning of the 19th century, when the first, especially river, swimming pools began to be established in our territory, which were first used for swimming training of soldiers, and only at the end of the 19th century did the general public learn to swim and there are also the first swimming competitions. The greatest development of sport swimming in our territory occurred only after the First World War, when the Czechoslovak Amateur Swimming Association was founded and it sought maximum organizational, financial and material support for swimming. Our swimmers achieved the best swimming performances in the 1920s, when they were able to compete with the European swimming powers. However, they did not have the world's top swimming, which was also seen at the Olympic Games in 1920, 1924, 1928 and 1936. In the early 1930s, the performance of our swimmers began to stagnate, which could be attributed to the fact that in other countries swimming was supported in all respects, but this was not the case in the Czechoslovak Republic, from the very beginning of sport swimming in our territory. Keywords:...

My thesis's topic is radio and its influence on society in the First Czechoslovak Republic. The topic of this thesis is approached form a perspective of history of technology. This historical discipline is most widely used within the Western Europe, especially in the Netherlands. The history of technology pays attention to the technology not from excessively technological view, but rather from sociological and cultural view. One of main interests of this historical discipline, lies in the scientists, whose work led to the discovery and technological progress. In my thesis, I will first of all pay attention to the radio as a technological phenomenon. I am going to try to present a new interpretation of the radio. Main interest of this thesis, is going to be technological development of radio from its conception to the spread of this technology, political discussions within the parliament and cultural reflections of this new technology. Key words: radio, history of technology, Czechoslovakia, technology, amateur radio operator, HAM Radio

The diploma thesis entitled The Atheization Policy of the Czechoslovak Republic from the End of 1940s to the Mid-1950s Illustrated on the Example of the Historical Regional Media introduces to the reader how Marxist-Leninist ideologies approached the topic of atheism and the process of atheization, and how they presented this worldview to the popular masses. The reader will also learn about the region of Teschen Silesia (where the research is based), its media and the media system established in Czechoslovakia at the time under discussion. The work also reflects on the post-war rise of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and its coup in 1948. The practical part of the thesis then reflects how the editors of the selected media (the widely available regional daily Nová svoboda, the newspaper of the Polish minority Głos Ludu and the company magazine Třinecký hutník) published topics that were supposed to lead their readers to secularization from 1948 to 1952. However, it is clear from the conclusions of the individual editions that the promotion of scientific atheism had minimal space, and the editors focused primarily on international, domestic social and political events. As time went on, however, even these contributions dwindled. Judicial monster trials of inconvenient clerics were also...

The dissertation looks at the history of one physical education organisation which was of great significance to the development of physical culture in inter-war Czechoslovakia and Poland, despite this not being its only activity. The YMCA came into being in England but it particularly flourished in the United States of America. During the First World War, Czechoslovak and Polish soldiers were given a taste of their activity, being accompanied home by members of this in- ternational association after the war had ended. Following requests from military and political leaders of the time, the American YMCA sent its secretaries to the newly established Czechoslovakia and renewed Poland to help establish the first local associations. It was particularly due to them that new practically unknown sports, were introduced to the region. In addition, in both Czechoslovakia and Poland, the YMCA also took responsibility for having new physical education fa- cilities built, improving training methods and generally enhancing young people through sport. During the inter-war years, local YMCA groups and their mem- bers performed exceptionally well in a number of sporting disciplines and ranked among the top Czechoslovak and Polish athletes. Furthermore, the YMCA con- tributed to establishing the tradition of permanent...

TITLE: Sudeten-German Nationalist Sports Associations and Czech State in the years 1918-1938 ABSTRACT: This dissertation deals with activities of Sudeten-German sports associations which had an negative approach towards the state. Their activities regularly provoked reactions from the state authorities and so it is possible to track down a whole genesis of mutual relations between the Czech state and individual associations in the archives. Among the most important sports associations was DTV Union. This union played an important part in the history of interwar Czechoslovakia, not only in the field of sport but also in the political sphere. Many top leaders of Sudeten-German political representation came from its ranks. Among the most famous Konrad Henlein, Karl Hermann Frank, Walter Brand and many others. Apart from DTV Union this dissertation also describes the most militant Sudeten-German sports association Volksport, which in that time became a synonym for the threat of rising Nacizm. The activities of Sudeten-German negative oriented sports associations had a significant influence on the course of events in Czechoslovak state in the second half of the 1930's and their anti-Czech attitudes culminated during the year 1938 and especially during the period of Munich Agreement. AIMS: The aim of the...