This diploma thesis deals with reflecting of the World War II in consciousness of the contemporary German generations, which have no direct experience of the period in question. The aim is to answer the question of whether there still persists a feeling of "collective guilt" for the crimes perpetrated on the other nations, especially on the Czech nation. The thesis thus defines a concept of guilt, and follows the public discussion and interpretation of history in Germany at the present time, as well as in the post-war period. For this purpose, it observes the official German policy, activities of civil society and public by means of media, literature and cultural and educational activities. The thesis also analyses historical facts of the post-war period in Germany and development of German-Czechoslovak/Czech relations and their importance for the contemporary German interpretation of history.

There was considerable focus on local culture and heritage in the last quarter of the 19th century in the regions with a predominantly German Bohemians population. Regional identity was shaped to a significant extent by publications on local culture and heritage ("Heimatkunde"), often designed for teaching in schools. With the German-speaking population spread out around the periphery of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia, there was no obvious centre for formation of German Bohemians identity and for a long time there was no uniform character to that identity. It was then manifested most strongly in the various regions. This dissertation is based on analysis and comparison of Heimatkunde publications. I have defined categories for examination of Heimatkunde: landscape (geography), heritage (history), progress (modernity) and people (ethnography), which correspond to the original breakdown of Heimatkunde and are also considered relevant by authors looking at the development of national movements. Definition of group identity is dominated by nationalism, especially as regards the second half of the 19th century and the first third of the 20th century. The focus of this dissertation is comparison of Heimatkunde publications from three neighbouring areas in the Upper Neisse region, differing primarily...

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The aim of the PhD thesis is to describe the emergence and functioning of the Deutschböhmen and Sudetenland provinces' governments proclaimed by Czech, Moravian and Silesian Germans in the autumn of 1918 and consecutively to compare their practical politics in the selected fields. The emphasize is put especially on the building of the state administration and defence mechanisms, foreign political relations as well as relations with the Czech minority inhabiting the disputed territory. The thesis should contribute to understanding the extent to which the declaration of these provinces was an immediate response to developments in Central Europe, or whether it was the result of long-term trends in Czech-German relations. One of its parts is dedicated to conceptions of a dissolution of the Czech lands, which were created in the years 1848-1918. Conclusion of this thesis is focused on the comparsion of the political activities of the both provincional governments and author tries to answer the question, how much are these policies similar and which governement better reacted to he challenges of the turning points of the autumn 1918.

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The czech-german and the czech-austrian relations are influenced by reminiscent elements and controversy in the interpretation of our shared history so far. The theme of the postwar transfer of the sudetengerman minority from the Czechoslowakia figures among the czech-german and czech- austrian "roadblocks" on the front. The postwar Beneš-decrees has influenced the processus of the czech EU-integration eminently. This text follows the EU -integration of the Czech republic and its nuances how are they presented in Sudetendeutsche Zeitung and Sudetenpost. It aims to describe the emphasized aspects of the integration and analyzes the context, in which is this problematics in the years 1997 - 2004 reflected. The analysis of the media agenda of the oficial paper of Sudetendeutsche Landsmannschaft and Sudetendeutsche Landsmannschaft in Österreich unveils the czech EU-entry from the sudetengerman point of view and tries to contribute the understanding of the "sudetengerman problem". The essay apllies two metodic approaches. The quantitative content analysis examines the frequence of the selected media contents, idientifies their context, neutrality or eventually opinion affection and makes this way the articles in Sudetendeustche Zeitung more transparent. The qualitative analysis takes notice of the main opinion...

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This dissertation examines the role of the United States in the mass expulsion of Germans from East-Central Europe from spring 1945 through 1947. By agreeing to allow Czechoslovakia and Poland to expel their German minority populations in 1943, and again in 1945 under Article XIII of the Potsdam Agreement, the United States permitted approximately 14 million to 16 million Germans to be forcibly relocated into a truncated, war-torn Germany, an incident that is the largest example of ethnic cleansing in world history. Although these expulsions threatened the postwar stability of Europe and were of great concern they were of marginal interest to most people in the United States. Informed discussion of these expulsions occurred among a fairly narrow group of military officials, diplomats, politicians, intellectuals, and immigrants or exiles. In fact there was a dearth of contemporary debate and analysis on all aspects of the United States role in the expulsion of Germans, both within government and in society more generally. Newspaper reports, magazine articles, diplomatic documents, government documents and the personal papers of diplomats and politicians reveal that the expulsion of Germans was a secondary issue to the United States government. Despite considerable media coverage, it seems that most Americans lacked both awareness of and compassion for the plight of the German expellees. These expulsions however, changed the politics and the demographics of Europe forever and made the ethnic cleansing of the minority populations of nations an international legal precedent. Today, the expulsions remain a controversial subject within the region of East-Central Europe where the people of Czechoslovakia, Germany and Poland still debate the expulsions as if they occurred yesterday. In the United States, however, the expulsions have been long forgotten. This dissertation is unique in that examines the involvement of the United States in the planning of the expulsions and the reaction of the American press, intellectuals and policymakers whereas previous literature has focused very sparingly on this aspect of the expulsions.

Titel of dissertation: Nazi Germanisation and Settlement Policy in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia This work focuses on land and settlement policies in the territory of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. They are treated as an integral part of a unified Germanisation policy which the Nazi regime had implemented within a broader territory of the German Reich. The aim of this study is to evaluate the structure and organisation of the settlement policy and mechanisms of its functioning on both lower and higher levels within the context of administration and implementation of the settlement process. Germanisation was, within the territory of Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, one of the key aspects of German economic policy. Its implementation was based on a combination of assimilation, evacuation, and physical liquidation. In practice, Germanisation measures in the Protectorate took either of the three following forms: 1) transfer of share ownership, 2) Aryanisation of Jewish property, 3) a settlement of Germans on Czech-held land. This sequence more or less corresponded also to the sequence in which the individual measures were to be applied in practice. It was envisioned that Germanisation and settlement policy would be fully implemented and completed only after the end of the war...

The thesis Radio Broadcasting for the German Minority in the Czech Countries until the Year 1945, with the Example of the Melnik Broadcast Transmitter describes the radio broadcasting for the German people living in Bohemia and Moravia in the period from its formation until the year 1945. It concentrates on the radio broadcaster in Melnik that was built in 1938 with the purpose of giving a special broadcasting to the German minority living in the Czech countries. The analytical part is divided into three sections: broadcasting for the Germans in the First and Second Republic and Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Another chapter focuses on the broadcasting from The Soviet Union (especially on the broadcaster Sudetendeutscher Freiheitssender) and Great Britain. It focuses on the contrasting access to the radio broadcasting for this group from the side of the Czech political representation and from the side of the German state. In the Czechoslovakia, there was this broadcasting in hands of the private institution Urania. The Sudeten Germans have focused their attention to the German stations, which were offering them more popular program. This study describes the influence of the German propaganda on the Sudeten Germans behaviour and the reaction of the Czechoslovakian Broadcasting Company. It...