Problematika mnichovské dohody a jejích politických reflexí v zrcadle komunistického tisku na příkladu Rudého práva 1948-1989

• Authors: Jaroslav Šebek

Title variants

EN

THE SUBJECT OF THE MUNICH AGREEMENT AND ITS POLITICAL REFLECTIONS AS MIRRORED IN THE COMMUNIST PRESS GIVING THE EXAMPLE OF RUDÉ PRÁVO, 1948-1989

• Languages of publication: CS

Abstracts

EN

The Munich Agreement represents one of the most fundamental events in modern Czech history. Because of the topic´s resonance amongst the public, it also became an important part of propaganda during the ensuing Communist regime. The political instrumentalization of the Munich events was utilised to provide ideological support and justification of both the internal and external political initiatives of Communist power. This study aims to analyse the ways and means of reflection of these historical events in Rudé právo as the principal press propaganda organ of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. The manner in which the consequences of the Munich Agreement were reported in this daily paper represented one of the ideological constants on which the regime based its legitimacy. Its editorials stereotypically assessed the consequences and causes of the Munich Agreement as evidence of the inability of the non-Communist parties to defend the independence and sovereignty of the state and to justify the alliance with the Soviet Union. Yet, understandably, external circumstances changed throughout the forty year existence of Communist supremacy during which constant reminders of 1938 Munich were invoked. The culmination of these propaganda efforts is particularly evident in the 1950s and in the first half of the 1960s. However, the year 1968 is another important milestone, when, after the August invasion, Rudé právo attempted to restore the positive image of the Soviet Union through the pro-regime interpretations of the Munich trauma. Following the conclusion of the December 1973 Agreement between the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany, which also addressed the disputed issues concerning the interpretation of the Munich Agreement, propaganda aspects did somewhat retreat into the background and Rudé právo and other Communist mass media devoted themselves primarily to the historical contexts of this event, although intentional reflections on the Munich of 1938 continued to be used for propaganda purposes, also.

Keywords

EN

COMMUNISM; MUNICH AGREEMENT; CZECH-GERMAN RELATIONS; CZECHOSLOVAKIA

Discipline

• HISTORY: HISTORY

• Publisher: Institute of History, Czech Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Český časopis historický (The Czech Historical Review)
• Year: 2012
• Volume: 110
• Issue: 3-4
• Pages: 654-670

Contributors

author

Jaroslav Šebek

• Historický ústav AV ČR, v. v. i., Prosecká76, 190 00 Praha 9, Czech Republic