Osm let po válce rok 1953 v Československu
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Ústav pro Studium Totalitních Režimů [u.a.]
2014
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| 245 | 1 | 0 | |a Osm let po válce |b rok 1953 v Československu |c Jiří Petráš ... (eds.) |
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| 264 | 1 | |a Praha |b Ústav pro Studium Totalitních Režimů [u.a.] |c 2014 | |
| 300 | |a 523 S. |b Ill. | ||
| 336 | |b txt |2 rdacontent | ||
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| 500 | |a Zsfassungen d. einzeln. Beitr. in engl. Sprache | ||
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Datensatz im Suchindex
| _version_ | 1819624494282571776 |
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| adam_text | Obsah
Úvod
..............................................................................................................................................7
Kamil
Nedvědický: Třídní justice a „dělnická třída
.........................................................8
Jan Kalous: Rok
1953
v životě ministerstva národní bezpečnosti
a ministerstva vnitra
............................................................................................................... 19
Jerguš
Sivoš: Reorganizácia
bezpečnosti v roku
1953 ....................................................27
Libor Svoboda: Státní bezpečnost v Českobudějovickém kraji v roce
1953 ............52
Vladimír
Varínsky: Rok
1953 -
vyvrcholenie krízového vývoja
v
poľnohospodárstve na Slovensku
.....................................................................................78
Lucia
Šulejová: Rozpad jednotných
rolnických
družstiev v Prešovskom kraji
v roku
1953
ako prejav odporu roľníkov voči kolektivizácii
.....................................92
Pavla Štorková: Letní
agitačně-propagační
kampaň
pro
podporu
kolektivizace na
Poličsku
......................................................................101
Ondřej Hladík: Rok
1953
jako
vrchol
sovětizace vězeňství
.....................................105
Jaroslav Rokoský: Amnestie
1953 ..............................................................................115
Marek
Šmíd: Papež Pius
XII.
a
poválečné Československo
....................................126
Petr Bednařík: Činnost židovských náboženských obcí
v českých zemích na počátku
50.
let
..........................................................................134
Martin Jindra: Rok
1953
jako iedno z přelomových období
v církevní politice státu
................................................................................................142
Denisa Nečasová: „Bude žít věčně. Smrt Klementa Gottwalda
v konceptu politického náboženství
........................................................................... 161
Luděk Vacín: „Zdrceni krutou ranou versus „zaplať pánbůh, že už je po něm .
Smrt Klementa Gottwalda očima československé veřejnosti
.................................170
Dagmar
Blümlová:
Aby z dítěte vyrůstal socialistický člověk.
Nad produkcí Státního nakladatelství dětské knihy v roce
1953 ...........................195
Jiří Křesťan: „Rok smrti očima Zdeňka Nejedlého.
Pokus o pohled zevnitř
................................................................................................207
Marek
Krejčí: Rok
1953
ve výtvarném umění
..........................................................214
Jiří Jindra: Československá akademie věd v roce
1953 ............................................221
Prokop Tomek: Letákové operace Svobodné Evropy
...............................................236
Jan Mach
-
Laděna Plucarová: Rok
1953
a prameny
ve Státním oblastním archivu v Třeboni
...................................................................246
Josef
Halla:
Nedohrané mistrovství světa v ledním hokeji
1953
aneb Jak politika zasahovala do sportu
......................................................................253
Jiří Pernes: Změna vedení Komunistické strany Československa
na počátku roku
1953 ..................................................................................................276
Milan Bárta: Vedení KSČ a bezpečnostní problematika
.........................................285
Jakub Šlouf: Rozvrat lokálního stranického a bezpečnostního aparátu
v průběhu plzeňských demonstrací
1.
června
1953 .................................................295
Dalibor Státník: Revoluční odborové hnutí v roce
1953 .........................................306
Drahomír Jančík: Peněžní reforma roku
1953
jako nástroj sociální změny
.........327
Jakub Rákosník: Měnová reforma a důchodové zabezpečení
................................340
Pavel Novák: Měnová reforma roku
1953
na Kutnohorsku
....................................348
Petr Blažek: „Jdeme do ulic! Historická rekonstrukce protestů
proti měnové reformě ve Vimperku
4.
června
1953 ................................................357
Irena Krčilová: Praxe trestních komisí okresních národních výborů
na Pelhřimovsku
...........................................................................................................382
Jiří Petráš: Kaleidoskop českobudějovických událostí roku
1953 ..........................388
Lenka Kalousova: Krize režimu v kontrastu
s
akcí „Kulak na Lounsku
..............401
Veronika Halamova: Život malého města na pozadí událostí
roku
1953
očima pamětníků
.......................................................................................417
Markéta Doležalová: Benešovsko roku
1953 -
regionální
aneb
kronikársky
pohled
.............................................................................................424
Jiří Cukr: Rok
1953
v zápisech obecních kronik na Českobudějovicku
................434
Josef Bliiml: Koloděje nad Lužnicí
1953 -
kolektivizace zemědělství v jihočeské obci
................................................................444
Helena Nosková: Rok
1953
a regiony v pohraničí
...................................................450
Summaries
.....................................................................................................................460
Seznam literatury
..........................................................................................................480
Seznam zkratek
.............................................................................................................502
Autorský kolektiv
..........................................................................................................508
Jmenný rejstřík
..............................................................................................................510
Summaries
Milan Barta
The Communist Party leadership and security issues
The economic policy of the Communist Party associated with forced collectiviza-
tion, breaking the existing social structure, and a mass lawlessness culminating in
the political trials of leading Communist officials led to the first crisis of the Com-
munist regime in Czechoslovakia at the start of the 1950s. The regime responded
by strengthening the repressive apparatus. Currency reform was the real test, where
security in cooperation with the party and state authorities played a pivotal role.
The Communist leadership reckoned with outbreaks of discontent, but the extent
of unrest and in particular the fact that they involved mainly workers, until that
time represented as the ruling class and the pillar of the regime, was surprising. The
planned large-scale repression against those involved in the unrest was prevented
mostly by the new attitude of the Soviet leadership, which sought to calm the internal
political situation in the countries of the Eastern bloc and recommended clemency
and certain reform measures. Changes in the superpower and military policy of the
Soviet Union after the death of Stalin and the mitigation of the Cold War provided
important ideas for correcting the economic and social policy of the Communist
Party. Under the influence of the Soviet New Course, the Communist leadership
in Prague agreed to certain reforms, but carried them out half-heartedly and in֊
completely. The reorganization and strengthening of the position of the Communist
Party in the security forces were meant to prevent any repetition of anti-communist
speeches, but also to focus its interests outside the Communist Party. Certain conces-
sions especially in the economic area were able to calm the domestic situation and
Czechoslovakia was spared the major effects of the crisis of the Communist system
in 1956, but, of course, they were felt much more significantly in the 1960s together
with the deteriorating economic situation.
Petr Bednarik
The activities of Jewish communities in the Czech lands in the early 1950s
After the Second World War, a number of activities of Jewish communities in the
Czech lands were restored. The supreme body was the Council of Jewish Religious
Communities. Due to the great loss of human life, only 53 communities were suc-
cessfully restored. Very important for the Jewish community in western and north-
ern Bohemia was the arrival of Jews from Ruthenia, Ukraine. These Jews encoun-
tered a large number of diverse problems. The political changes of 1948 dramatically
affected the lives of the Jewish communities, and many major personnel changes
occurred in running the communities and the Council. Relations between Czecho-
slovakia and Israel were very good at that time, with Czechoslovakia helping the
newly established State of Israel and providing both arms and military training for
460
Israel. In 1948-1949 thousands of Jews left Czechoslovakia for Israel. At the begin-
ning of the 1950s, however, relations with Czechoslovakia grew significantly nega-
tive. The anti-Semitic atmosphere in the country was associated with the political
trials, and propaganda emphasized the dangers of a worldwide Zionist conspiracy.
In this difficult time, Jewish religious communities continued their activities. After
1949, churches were governed by the State Office for Church Affairs, ministers were
paid by the State, and the Office made decisions regarding the financial situation
of the Church. A major reorganization of the Jewish communities took place and
after 1953 there were only 9 Jewish communities, and the other communities were
changed into synagogue units. In November 1953 a meeting of delegates approved
a new constitution, which established the means of organizing Jewish communities.
A major problem of the communities was the long-term lack of community spirit.
The Jewish communities also did not have enough funds for their social activities.
Despite the difficult conditions, however, the communities were able to continue
their activities.
Petr Blažek
“Leťs take to the streets”
Protests against currency reform in Vimperk on 4 June 1953
One of the responses to currency reform in June 1953 was a great wave of strikes,
whose total number was much higher than in previous and subsequent years. Mostly
they took the form of short interruptions in work, which did not last more than
a few hours. In several cities, however, the initial protests in the factories poured out
into the streets and took the form of riots, which were suppressed only by the armed
forces. The most extensive were the spontaneous protests in Pilsen on 1 June 1953.
The spontaneous street demonstrations were repeated over the next three days and
in varying degrees in other cities.
The last street riots took place on 4 June 1953 in Vimperk, which is the main topic
of this contribution. In Vimperk work was interrupted for several hours in five lo-
cal factories (Šumavan, Jitona, Armastav, Šumava Šumavské sawmills and Šumavské
breweries). A large number of employees subsequently took part in a street dem-
onstration outside the building that housed the District National Committee in
Vimperk. The crowd demanded not only an end to currency reform and better work-
ing conditions, but also shouted out anti-communist slogans. In several ways did the
Vimperk riots partially differ from the protests in other cities. Young women who
worked as laborers in the Šumavan textile mill played a major role in them. Another
difference was the fact that most of the students of the Economic College in Vimperk
also took part in the street demonstrations. The final aspect was related to the re-
gional structure of the population, for among those arrested were several persons of
German descent.
The local power apparatus in Vimperk was largely paralyzed for a few hours. Fi-
nally, units of the border patrol accompanied by the secret police moved in against
the protesters. Like the day before in Strakonice, the intervention was managed by
461
the chief of the Main Administration of Public Security, Col. Jan Janulik. The in-
tervention took the form of a farce, as evidenced by the number of people affected.
Although at least hundreds of people took part in the work stoppage and street dem-
onstrations (the situational reports of the regional security administration in České
Budějovice claimed that 1,215 people took part in the strikes in Vimperk), in the
end only nine people ended up in court. On 27 - 28 October 1953, they were given
relatively light sentences by the People s Court in Vimperk (three to twelve months in
prison). Two of them were members of the Communist Party (one of them was even
a member of the factory militia).
The description of these events in Vimperk is based on eyewitness accounts in addi-
tion to the literature that has been written up about it. They are stored in an extensive
investigative file of the State Security, which had not been used for historical research
until this time.
Josef Blüml
Koloděje nad Lužnicí 1953 (collectivization of agriculture in a South Bohemian
village)
This article discusses the attempt to establish a collective farm in the South Bohemi-
an village of Koloděje nad Lužnicí. The process of establishing the collective farm in
Koloděje lasted ten years, from 1949 to 1958, when the collective farm was actually
founded. After five years, however, it bankrupted. The campaign to establish the col-
lective in Koloděje culminated in 1953. This article leans heavily on archival sources
(chronicles and records of MNV meetings). The author has tried to capture the issue
in the broader context of time and material.
Dagmar Bliimlová
So that a child becomes a good socialist. On the production of the State Publish֊
ing House for Children’s Books in 1953
In her study So that a child becomes a good socialist. On the production of the State
Publishing House for Childrens Books in 1953 D. Bliimlová looks at a turning point in
the development of Czechoslovak books for children. The impulse in this new direc֊
tion emerged from the first-ever supreme meeting about domestic children’s litera֊
ture in November 1953. The Union of Czechoslovak Writers conveyed the expecta֊
tions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party through the mouths of their
prominent members. The State Publishing House for Childrens Books (SNDK) was
asked to distance itself from part of the pre-war book heritage and create a new kind
of hero. The ideological focus on the youngest readers had its model in the theory
and practice of Soviet books for children and young people. This influence was sig-
nificantly promoted in the output of SNDK after 1953. Since childrens reading in this
country had a long tradition, an intense form and large printing numbers, the harm-
ful potential for the creation of future ideas and the hierarchy of values was the result.
462
Jiří Cukr
The Year 1953 in the Records of the Local Chronicles of the České Budějovice
Region
This contribution focuses on how the events of 1953 were reflected in the records of
the local chronicles of the České Budějovice Region. Excerpts have been taken from
38 chronicles, currently stored at the České Budějovice Public District Archive and
also available in the digital archive. Various thematic issues were studied ֊ such as
the currency reform, problems faced by agricultural co-operatives, harvesting and
compulsory supplies, the death of Stalin and Gottwald, meteorological phenomena,
various celebrations and festivities, development of technical equipment etc. The
elaboration of the topics in the books differs greatly and varies due to the individual
approach, knowledge and skills of the chroniclers. The outcome of the study provides
an integral view of life in 1953 with all of its specifics, accompanied by a number of
observations and remarkable comments. Thanks to this, it is possible not only to
learn about the events of that time in the South Bohemian countryside, but also to
document the manifestations and impacts of the “big history” on a regional level.
Markéta Doležalová
Benešovsko 1953 - Regional or chronicle view
This paper focuses on the response to the events of 1953 in the chronicles of a specif-
ic trio of communities in the western tip of Benešovsko, forming a background to the
building of the Slapy Dam. These communities were Třebsín, Teletina and Krňany.
During the occupation, they were affected by expulsion and the subsequent devasta-
tion of houses and farmland, with the occupiers turning the region into a training
ground for SS troops in the first phase and later carrying out Germanization there.
These facts, together with the post-war uncertainty about the future fate of the region
and the little help provided in the reconstruction, led to a radicalizaţi on of small
farmers and in many ways strengthened their faith in communist propaganda. Yet
there were major problems with the collectivization that took place in these commu-
nities, as captured by chronicler Vladimir Mühlbach and which survive in the eyes of
the farmers and freeholders whose complaints were collected by the chronicler. The
critical year for the small, ailing cooperative was 1953. This paper also focuses on
the relatively modest and understated (in a nationwide context) commemoration of
the deaths of Stalin and Gottwald. Currency reform and the reaction to it were also
captured. Although the farmers lost their life savings, they reacted with moderation.
But workers in the local quarry, an enterprise vital to the building of Slapy Dam,
were provoked by the devaluation of their wages into striking. Another benefit is an
unexpectedly independent to “between the lines” critical opinion of the chronicler in
capturing the atmosphere of the 1950s.
463
Veronika Halamova
The life of a small town in the background of the events of 1953 through the eyes
of witnesses
The year 1953 meant for the ruling power in communist Czechoslovakia turning
point, for whose sake it is possible to consider the general crisis caused not only
economic problems, which resulted in undisclosed monetary reform, the impact was
negative for all groups of the population. This paper reflects the impact of this and
other important events of the year mentioned, such as disturbances in plants asso-
ciated with the aforementioned reform, the death of Klement Gottwald, allowing
performances of the collective farms or amnesty for some politically persecuted pe-
ople in the background of private and public life of the selected town near Krkonose
mountains. This paper is based on the stories that complement the information from
historical materials.
Josef Halla
The unfinished World Ice Hockey Championships in 1953 or how politics inter-
fere in sports
The history of ice hockey is more than a century old, the same as the Czech or Czech-
oslovak national team. Influenced not only by athletic ability, but also by external
circumstances. In 1947 and 1949 Czechoslovakia won two world championships,
but then came the bitter years after exile and a plane crash, and in 1950, instead of
defending the title, there was a political trial and more players expelled from the
national team. The revamped team did not even participate in the Championships
in 1951, A fourth place finish at the Winter Olympics in Oslo in 1952 led to medal
hopes at the World Ice Hockey Championships in March 1953 in Switzerland. There
were no teams from Canada and the USA, the USSR postponed its entrance onto the
world stage, and the only rival for the title was Sweden. In the course of the champi-
onships, however, both Stalin and Gottwald died. Two rounds from the end, before
the runoff, our team resigned and went home to participate in national mourning.
Their results were annulled and the players had lost the chance for at least a silver
medal. How the championships took place and what was preserved in the docu-
ments of sports officials and diplomats. About the influence of state power, contem-
porary ideology and the Soviet experience (i.e. from a country where ice hockey was
played until the end of World War II) on the composition of the team and the effort
to create athletes, hockey players and representative of the new type.
Ondrej Hladik
1953 as the peak of Sovietization of the prison system
The beginning of 1953 culminated in the Sovietization of the Czechoslovak prison
system, but this should not be considered a one-off step that occurred without any
preparation in previous years. On the contrary, the development of this goal was set
464
out in 1948, when the new ruling group began to adapt this branch of justice to suit
its own needs. It gradually became one of the tools for persecuting the opponents
of the communist leadership. For this purpose, new legislation suppressing existing
legalities was passed following the February coup and a new category introduced
within punishable offenses called “class enemy”, which in practice meant complete
insufficient access to the prisoners falling into this group. Compared to conventional
criminal offenders, they found themselves in a totally lawless position and usually
only experienced inhumane treatment or even torture.
The task of this paper is to outline the events of that period, from 1948 to 1952, which
cannot be separated from the actions taken in 1953, because it was part of a continu-
ous development. At the same time, of course, it does not neglect the year, which
is the main topic of these proceedings, both in terms of adapting laws and internal
regulations and the impact on the service of prison guards. Overall, however, this
stage of the post-war prison system can be considered a time when professionalism
suffered, as did access to prisoners and the humanization of sentences from the prac-
tices of the First Republic.
Drahomír Jančík
Monetary reform in 1953 as a tool for social change
This study interprets monetary reform in 1953 as one of the tools of the class politics
of communist totalitarianism, whose aim was the gradual elimination of the “rem-
nants of exploited classes” and the creation of a social structure without “antagonistic
classes” The abolition of the bond market can be considered the first tool of this pol-
icy. The expected increase in prices on the free market was supposed to have its full
impact on private craftsmen, traders, farmers and owners of apartment buildings,
while the workers (generally working for pay) were to receive some compensation
with higher wages. In parallel, a new tax system enacted in late 1952 w^as conceived
as the second tool of class politics. The high tax burden on private enterprise in agri-
culture and manufacturing trades was meant to force their operators to enter either
co-operatives (whose taxes were negligible) or else cease doing business. Also, the
introduction of standards of delivery according to the Soviet model was supposed
to support the collectivization of villages, since these standards were considerably
harsher for private farmers than for agricultural cooperatives. In June 1952 a politi-
cal decision was reached on the transition to the free market by the Czechoslovak
commission set up for this purpose, but the last word belonged to the invited Soviet
advisers. In November 1952 they recommended linking the transition to the free
market to monetary reform, which the Communist Party leadership had not an-
ticipated. Monetary reform was prepared in secret within a narrow circle around
Gottwald and among its aims was the sterilization of “class enemies” by depriving
them of funds, to prevent the accumulation of capital, and thus the “reproduction of
capitalist elements”. These tools were the start of the process of changing the social
structure of Czechoslovak society, where by the end of the 1950s the private farmer
and tradesman had almost disappeared.
465
Jiří Jindra
Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in 1953
The preparation and foundation of Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (CAS) in 1952
are described herein. Further, the activity of the Presidium of CAS and the Commit՝
tee of the Presidium (Professors Nejedlý-President, members Böhm, Laufberger and
Šorm) is reviewed in detail. Also, the general meetings of CAS are mentioned. Par֊
ticularly, it is possible to learn of reports on the activity of the whole CAS, the state
appreciation of the work of members and scientists of CAS. The contemporary politi-
cal and scientific engagement of some members of CAS is described using the case of
Professors Málek, Šorm, Trávníček and Knapp. The great influence of the communist
party of Czechoslovakia on CAS is assessed. The CAS fulfilled in 1953 its role ֊ to be
the highest scientific institution in Czechoslovakia. The location of workplaces of CAS
and the facilities with equipment and foreign literature was unsatisfactory.
Martin Jindra
1953 as one of the turning points in the implementation of the church policy of
the state
This work addresses one of the turning points in the church policy of communist
Czechoslovakia. The years in question, 1952-1953, can be described as the beginning
stages of the struggle over worshipers as well as the clergy of individual churches.
The state no longer put its chief emphasis on the direct repression of the church and
its attempt to break up the relationship between the hierarchy and clergy, and by
extension the faithful, manifested in particular against the Roman Catholic Church.
Thrust into the foreground was the beginnings of a struggle against religion whose
consequences also impacted non-Catholic churches to a much greater extent than
before. This period was supposed to see mass political and propaganda work sig-
nificant ly involved in the process of creating an atheistic society and the acquisi-
tion of the faithful to the “cause of socialism” Transformation also took place in the
approach towards numerically superior groups of believers, who on the one hand
should not have been needlessly troubled by administrative errors in church policy,
and who on the other were members of the communist party openly pushing people
to leave individual churches. This paper is mainly based on an analysis of archival
sources from not only nationwide provenance.
Jan Kalous
1953 in the life of the Ministry of National Security and the Ministry of the Interior
This paper offers an analysis of the systematic changes in the communist bloc during
1953 with special emphasis on changes in the Ministry of the Interior (National Se-
curity). The year 1953 saw many changes within the security apparatus (MV merger
with MNB, new minister, personnel changes in MV) and reaction to major societal
changes (the deaths of Stalin and Gottwald, the regime crises in Czechoslovakia and
466
the GDR). Political trials (begun at the end of the 1940s and start of the 1950s) were
also continued during the course of 1953 and inescapably affected members of the
security forces.
Lenka Kalousova
Crisis mode in contrast with Operation Kulak in Louny
This paper focuses on the defects of Operation Kulak focused on the Louny region.
It offers a microprobe of the expulsion of farm families from their homes and their
subsequent migration to other regions for the purpose of understanding the practi-
cal aspects of this operation. The operation took place in Louny in 1953 and affected
nearly fifty families. In many respects, however, their fates differed and defy classical
assumptions about the course of the operation. It is on this fact that this paper will be
focused. On the one hand, there is the fate of one farmer who in 1946 was hailed by
the regional Communist newspaper as a Stakhanovite and the best producer, yet sev-
eral years later he was convicted of failing to deliver his quotas and was subsequently
evicted. On the other, there is a farmer proven to have once owned a tractor, and so
was, according to the criteria set out, an obvious kulak, but he was not evicted. And
that was operation “K” in 1953.
Irena Krčilová
The work of the penal commission of the district people’s committees in Pelhřimov
The paper “The work of the penal commission of the district peoples committees in
Pelhřimov” deals chiefly with an analysis of a report evaluating the activities of the
Pelhřimov Commission prepared in 1953 by the Jihlava regional prosecutor, who
pointed out the incorrect procedures used in the prosecution of farmers at the begin-
ning of the 1950s. The second part is a comparison of the number of cases of farmers
convicted by district courts and peoples committees. The content of this contribution
is based on sources originally collected for compiling a list of displaced farmers kept in
the State District Archive in Pelhřimov. The aim is to highlight the lack of uniformity
in procedures and the arbitrariness of the criminal authorities at this time.
Marek Krejčí
1953 in Art
Archival sources indicate that most artists were more or less willing to quickly con-
form to the new cultural policy in exchange for public contracts, bonuses, awards and
other benefits. Cultivation initially started in the traditional art associations, which,
despite adapting to the new conditions, were eventually dissolved and membership
converted into a uniform and party-controlled Union of Czechoslovak Artists. Some
artists chose passive resistance, suggested by both the high proportion of landscapes
or still-lifes in the exhibition halls as opposed to propaganda-laced themed paintings
and the high number of artists who opted out of union exhibitions. The idea of col-
467
lectivism was promoted ֊ from collective discussions on works in progress and col-
lective exhibitions to attempts at collective creation. Today, socialist realism in art is
primarily identified with agitation posters or the construction of new regional clus-
ters created to accelerate industrialization, whose architecture and urbanism have
made them the latest objects of heritage preservation (Ostrava-Porubá, Ostrov nad
Ohří). Period architectural contests generated interesting designs, derived from So-
viet models, but the reality of the post-war economy, and later changes in the Soviet
Union after Stalins death, saw these projects end up in the archives.
The fifties are now assessed through the prism of current historical experience,
where the spoliation of creative freedom is condemned and hidden parallels with
pre-war avant-garde and expressions of opposition to the regime are sought. Even
active creators began to relax their sometime commitment during the liberalization
in the sixties, even though their careers often started out this way. It helps that the
award-winning works bought for public collections were later removed from them,
and this fails to provide a balanced perspective on art work in the early fifties. The
atmosphere of this time could be clarified by an anthology of contemporary art criti-
cism, which would expose the denial of objective assessment and full subservience
to ideological preferences and political context.
Jiří Křesťan
“The Year of Death” through the eyes of Zdeněk Nejedlý. A view from the “inside”
1953 was a significant year in the life of politician and scientist Zdeněk Nejedlý
(1878-1962). The bombastic celebration of his 75th birthday in February of that year
seemed to indicate that he was at the peak of his career and could enjoy tributes and
respect. At the end of January 1953 he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister. In real-
ity, his “promotion” meant his fall from power. He was removed from the ministry
of education, science and the arts, and educational reform was enacted against his
will, negating many of the advantages of the uniform school law in 1948. Nejedlý re-
sisted the Sovietization of education (shortening school attendance, eliminating the
gymnázium and faculties of education, etc.). He was criticized by Klement Gottwald,
and Karol Bacilek accused him of “bourgeois nationalism”. Nejedlý was not a strong
political player. He could not even control the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
despite being named director in November 1952. He did manage, however, to link
the Academy to earlier scientific societies and made it possible for several reputable,
non-communist scientists to work there. Nejedlýs magazine Var, which had pro-
vided a certain platform against the cultural nihilism of the leftists after 1948, was
stopped in 1953. At the beginning of the 1950s, Zdeněk Nejedlý was afraid he would
become a victim of the political trials. His health deteriorated after myocardial in-
farction in 1951. The death of his wife Marie in 1953 was another blow. The point of
view of one of the prominent members of the communist regime is interesting from
a methodological viewpoint. It is necessary to look into the life of society after 1948
from various angles and accept diverse interpretations. It is then possible to draw
differences even in the seemingly homogenous monolith of power elites and under-
468
stand the roots of later attempts to reform socialism at the end of the 1960s, which in
more than one case were inspired from above.
Jan Mach ֊ Laděna Plucarová
1953 and sources in the State Regional Archives in Třeboň
In a brief overview of the sources stored in the State Regional Archives in Třeboň, in
the department of resources and collections management relating to 1953, this con֊
tribution attempts to bring focus and clarity in the representation of different sets of
documents (resources) for the recent history of South Bohemia. The list is themati-
cally divided into resources of the public administration, local authorities and the
so-called confiscation institutions, into the resources of political parties and social
organizations, and the resources of law enforcement and prison administrations. In
each group attention is given to specific resources in terms of making a more precise
description (coverage, chronological definition of documentation, status of compila-
tion and accessibility), and consideration to certain types of documents relating to
1953 and to some key events not only in 1953 but also continuously throughout the
nineteen fifties. Large differences in the degree of preservation and completeness
of the documents in the collections leads to an affirmation of the rich content of
the resources, such as the Regional Peoples Committee of České Budějovice (1880)
1949 - 1960 (1967), the Communist Party - HRH of České Budějovice (1928) 1945
- 1990, the National Front - Regional Committee of České Budějovice 1948 - 1960
(1962), and the Regional Prosecutor of České Budějovice (1948) 1949 - 1999. The list
of other resources poorer in content and marginalized is equally valuable, however.
In conclusion, it can be said that an image of 1953 and the entire nineteen fifties can
be pieced together very flexibly despite varying degrees of preservation and incom-
pleteness in archival documents, if the just-mentioned sources are combined with
the resources in the South Bohemian district state archives and in particular with the
sources stored in the Archives of the Security Forces in Prague.
Denisa Nečasová
“He will live forever” The death of Klement Gottwald in the concept of political
religion
This study is devoted to contemporary reflection on an important event in 1953 - the
death of Klement Gottwald. Sources for the study consist of material taken from the
major newspapers at the time - Rudé právo, Svobodné slovo, Lidová demokracie
and Mladá fronta (Red Law, Freedom of Speech, Peoples Democracy and the Young
Front) -֊ which covered this event extensively. Through cultural and historical analy-
sis, the study focuses on the ways of presenting the president, the role of the Commu-
nist Party, the meaning of losing the leading champion of socialism, future prospects,
his ritualized funeral, etc. The character of the presentation of this event has points
in common with the concept of political religion, which indicates elements and pro-
cesses of the sacralization of policy and its main players. Included in this context are
469
also the most important signs and images of the presentation. This study likewise
provides a brief outline of the concept of political religion.
Kamil Nedvëdicky
Class justice and the “working class”
In this paper, the author is looking at the position of the working class before the
class justice of the communist regime. First, it describes the role ascribed to workers
by Marxist ideology and its modification in Soviet Russia (Marxism - Leninism). It
highlights the difference between theory and practice, which showed that the state
machinery of the totalitarian system of government, whose legitimacy depended on
the workers, which had to deal with worker resistance and take steps to repress them.
In the next section, the author focuses on the creation and embedding of class justice
in Czechoslovakia after 1948. Presented here are the methods for controlling the ju-
dicial machinery of the ruling party state and for ensuring that court decisions com-
plied with the views of the Communist Party. The author mentions a contradiction
within the legal system, where legal standards outwardly declared equality between
people, but other binding regulations and the actual exercise of justice matched the
strictly unequal status of individual subjects of law, with the result being that the
dominant principle was examining class origins as the decisive argument in the ap-
plication of law in post-February Czechoslovakia. Attention is also given to the posi-
tion of the working class after 1948, focusing on the fact that the officially declared
“dictatorship of the proletariat” had substantial limitations in the demand for com-
munist persuasion among the workers. The author concludes this part with an argu-
ment that questions the maintenance of power in the hands of the workers, because
the de facto dictator was the Communist Party, claiming to be the sole representative
of the workers, which did not correspond to reality. In the next section, the author
describes the problems that were caused by the party prosecuting workers, who were
theoretically members of the ruling class. On the basis of specific examples from pri-
mary sources, he illustrates the methods used by specialized courts to deal with the
anti-regime activity of workers. He draws attention to the fact that in political cases
not even workers were spared stiff penalties and their proportion of the number of
prisoners was the highest of all social groups. In less politically tinted cases, however,
the courts strictly distinguished between workers and members of the “vanquished
classes” with the result being that working-class origins guaranteed a lighter sentence
or an advantage in judicial proceedings of a noncriminal nature. With regard to the
researched year of 1953, the author mentions the massive worker protests, including
basic political demands for regime change. He presents the drawbacks of punishing
workers and resolving ideological complications associated with their penalization.
In view of developments after 1953, he analyzes the strict class differentiation in the
specific practice of the courts which governed the decisions of individual cases and,
at first glance, the surprising circumstance of the ever deepening class nature of the
legal sphere. He emphasizes, however, the existing rule that in the case of active op-
position to the regime by the workers or their troublesomeness to the ruling group,
470
working-class origins did not prevent criminal repression and workers were still con-
victed of “seditious” offenses, all in the name of the ruling working class (behind
which the Communist Party leadership, as the real power, hid).
Helena Noskova
1953 in the borderlands
The borderlands were and remain a specific area. After World War II they became an
area of great migration along the lines of the USSR. Since 1924, the Soviet Union had
used migration primarily to deal with political and economic problems.
The migration of inhabitants, the creation of new entities in the borderlands and in
the interior, and the relationship of the state to them, all this provides an important
historical source that bears witness to the social history and history of the region.
The postwar migrations in Czechoslovakia are a major indicator of the state of Czech
society and the intentions of the politicians who used many historical examples from
various countries in these migrations in order to restore the national state of Czechs
and Slovaks and to minimize national minorities from pre-war Czechoslovakia in
marginal groups of people exposed to rapid assimilation, and simultaneously to min-
imize the influence of other groups.
The StB archival material, SCzV archival material and that of several other institu-
tions demonstrates the activity of the StB, which sought to manipulate groups of the
population between 1948 and 1954. At the same time, however, they also illustrate
how this organ was able to engineer the most serious charges from irrelevant facts,
without any particular demonstrability.
StB material was the only material of proof used to prosecute individuals and
groups that the StB selected and incorporated into its guidelines to fight against en-
emies and other elements. Despite the demonstrable lack of plausibility and direct
forgeries immediately after 1948 and between 1951 and 1956, the material used in
1953 became serious evidence and arguments, even though the Volhynian Czechs
accepted a catastrophic property settlement at a ratio of 1:50. In 1948-1954 a double-
tracking apparatus was created by the Communist Party. The first ruling political
power was concentrated in the Central Committee, in the entire apparatus of the
party, and in the government of Czechoslovakia, which sought to promote education
in the spirit of the teachings of Marxism-Leninism and represented the power of the
Communist Party outwardly, particularly as an appealing social policy, consistent
internationalism, and solidarity with the proletarians of the whole earth. Repressive
power remained hidden and scattered in various organs, which were controlled by
the state police.
Pavel Novak
Currency reform in 1953 in Kutnâ Hora
This paper is a summary of chronicles, the material of rural and local Communist
Party organizations and eyewitness accounts of the currency reform in the towns
471
and villages of the district of Kutná Hora. In mid-May a shopping frenzy began in
Kutná Hora with people from villages going to shop in the city stores. Local officials
learned about the reform the same as ordinary people on 31 May at 5:00 PM via ra-
dio broadcast. Exchange centers were set up only in villages with larger communities
and exchange days were established for individual communities. The police and mi-
litias were on alert in the cities. In each exchange center, the Communist Party com-
mittee sent its staff to convince people of the correctness of currency reform. Most
of them were “heckled”. Exchanging money in Kutná Hora took place without much
difficulty. The only major incident was the premature payment of money in CKD, for
which the managing director was sanctioned by the party and the loudest protesting
employee was fired from his job. Otherwise, the protests were confined to swear-
ing at reform. This is followed by unsubscribing to the party newspaper and on a
smaller scale handing in party cards. An attempt to recruit new party members from
the ranks of workers and farmers completely failed. Currency reform forced people
to work harder and create family budgets. They did not save because they feared
they would lose these savings again. Party inquiries took place during the next two
months, leading to the exclusion of people who did not agree with reform, and they
showed that not only tradesmen but also ordinary workers, farmers, and especially
seniors were hurt by the reform. The feeling of injustice, however, was overcome by
the good feeling from the abolition of rationing and the several drops in retail prices
that followed, which provided the communists with a favorable resolution for this
first crisis of socialism in Kutná Hora.
Jiří Pernes
Changing the leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in early 1953
One of the consequences of the trial of former Secretary General of the Communist
Party Slánský and other officials at the end of 1952 was the growth of dissatisfaction
of party members with the level of internal party democracy, state management, and
the development of the social status of workers. The Communist Party leadership
under Klement Gottwald therefore prepared measures that were meant to convince
the public that the disclosure of traitors would lead to the remedy of deficiencies.
However, Gottwald died before most of them could be implemented. A new party
leadership and the state were constituted immediately after his funeral. Prime Min-
ister Antonín Zápotocký became the president of the country, the office of Prime
Minister remained vacant, and the Communist Party leadership was supposed to be
“collective”. Antonín Novotný, who had been recently removed from the position of
Secretary of the Central Committee, was charged with running the party apparatus.
As documents from Russian archives show, his return was apparently the result of a
compromise with Zápotocký. Russian documents likewise show that the new leader-
ship of CPSU greatly interfered with the policy of CPC. As a result, political pressure
on society in Czechoslovakia was relaxed ֊ penalties for protesters against monetary
reform were more moderate than the party leadership originally intended, and Op-
eration K, the campaign against kulaks, was halted. The next stage of evicting “hostile
472
elements” from the cities did not take place and the interventions prepared against
the Catholic Church were stopped. Many of these “softening” steps were taken under
direct pressure from the Soviet Union.
Jiří Petras
Kaleidoscope of events in České Budějovice in 1953
A total of ten city districts were home to 61,779 people during the eighth year follow-
ing the war. There were 17 general educational schools and seven specialized schools
in greater České Budějovice as of 1 January 1954. The city also had 214 food shops
and another 128 with other ranges of products. Altogether they were small shops,
some of them still privately owned.
Despite the massive process of liquidating free enterprise, there were still quite a few
people in the city who were dependent on themselves and continued their futile stru-
ggle with the state. They were mostly the owners of small firms who employed them-
selves or family members. For 1953, the Uniform National Committee had planned
the next phase to liquidate and incorporate them into the state, i.e. cooperative sector.
On 19 March 1951 an anti-alcohol advisory commission to intensify the fight
against alcoholism was established in the offices of the National Institute of Health
with the participation of representatives of JNV, SNB, the court and the senior doc-
tor. The alcoholic was considered a sick man. The immediate therapeutic means was
the powder Antabus.
Up until the implementation of monetary reform, which affected all layers and
groups of the population, systemic changes were targeted at individual minority
groups. These, of course, included sub-problems. Most of them had, in our opinion,
a common denominator ֊ a society made unstable by fundamental changes in the
way it functioned after 1948 and therefore all the components within it malfunctio-
ned as well. One system was abolished, but not yet replaced by anything full-valued.
Seen from a distance, however, 1953 appears as a turning point, after which there
was a glimmer - even if imperceptible at first - of better times ahead. The historically
less mapped out second half of the fifties and early sixties led to a major boom in
Czechoslovak society.
Jakub Rákosník
Currency reform and retirement security
Currency reform cannot be separated from overall state social policy because of its pro-
jected impact on the living standards of the population. The currency adjustment in
the spring of 1953 was accompanied by another operation, with the working title “Op-
eration D”, directed against individual pensioners regarded as enemies of the peoples
democratic regime. “Operation D” shows how the specific intent of the center of power
embodied in legally binding regulations subsequently takes on a life of its own and or֊
dinary authorities add their own intentions at the regional and municipal levels ֊ often,
moreover, with the active support of the general public. Of nearly nine thousand exam-
473
ined pensions, only 263 were deprived of them and 1680 had their pensions reduced.
A review left about three quarters of the pensions at their original amount (76.8% in the
Czech Republic and 74% in the Slovak Republic). Reductions involved 20.1 %, i.e. 24.1 %,
and 3.1% were deprived, i.e. 1.9%. Both parts of the country thus showed essentially
similar trends. Affected among the prominent representatives of the First Republics re-
gime were Karel Engliš, Ivan Dérer, Jan Černý, Jiří Hoetzel and Josef Zadina.
Jaroslav Rokoský
Amnesty in 1953
Prison conditions were harsh in Czechoslovakia, the community of prisoners incred-
ibly diverse, the possibility of release from stiff penalties slight. They lived together in
common cells, or they were war heroes who fought on the front lines or took part in
local resistance, democratic politicians, priests, university professors, ordinary people
of various professions, but also communists, collaborators, informers and murderers.
After the accession of Antonín Zápotocký to the presidency on 21 March 1953 an am-
nesty in the spirit of tradition and after the Soviet model was expected. This study
looks at how the amnesty was developed. What was the wording? Which prisoners did
it cover? What was the experience of political prisoners with it? How did the release of
retribution prisoners go? How did the communist regime judge it? After the amnesty
of 4 May 1953 the number of prisoners in Czechoslovakia declined to about 32,000
convicts. Political prisoners were not covered unless they were severely ill and with
short times remaining on their sentences. Still, they firmly believed that change was
coming and the totalitarian regime would collapse. They were left with only one satis-
faction, but a very pleasing one: they survived Stalin and Gottwald.
Jerguš Sivoš
The reorganization of security in 1953
Comprehensive changes took place in the security units of communist Czechoslovakia
shortly after the death of Joseph Stalin and Klement Gottwald. They were preceded by
measures and taken by the minister of national security Karol Bacilek in the investiga-
tive apparatus. Outwardly the regime proclaimed to fight against the illegal activities of
members of the StB, in particular the lower apparatchiks, but in reality, they continued
to tolerate the same methods. Their full suppression would destabilize the totalitarian
system. Minister Bacilek, fully controlled by Soviet advisers, had taken steps concerned
with solving the relationship between the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (CPC)
and State Security when the Secret Service began to overtake its founder during the
previous period. With the blessings of Moscow, the party leadership prepared funda-
mental changes in the ministry of national security. This ultimately led to the aboli-
tion of the ministry, but also the headquarters of the secret police. The reorganization
of security took place in early autumn 1953 under the direction of Soviet advisers.
The interior subdivision reflected the Soviet model of the organizational division of
security departments. The attempt by the Communist Party to strengthen the party’s
474
control led to the division of StB headquarters into several separate components and
their subordination to four leading officials at the ministry. They sought to formally
distance the changes from the previous period - the ministry of national security was
essentially transferred to the Ministry of Interior, and organizational changes did not
go hand in hand with changes in the command cadre. Party officials also reevaluated
the methods of the fight against the enemies of the regime. The actions of the politi-
cal police were no longer directed towards preparing major trials, spreading fear and
locking up opponents in prisons and camps. Controlling the opposition was moved
into the foreground, in particular through a network of secret collaborators. Even the
limited use of the term State Security documents the effort to disassociate itself from
the previous period. The organization of the Ministry of Interior at the turn of the years
1953/1954 remained in force with minor changes until the mid-1960s.
Dalibor Státník
Revolutionary Trade Union Movement in 1953
This study deals with the position, organization and activities of the uniform trade un-
ion organization - the Revolutionary Trade Union Movement (ROH) in 1953. On the
basis of researching sources held primarily in union provenance, it explains the causes
and effects of the complete subordination of trade unions to the Communist Party and
the consequent loss of authority among the core membership, which often responded
to unpopular measures (tightening of performance standards, eliminating payment in
kind, etc.) either passively or in critical cases with demonstrations and strikes. The
culmination of this discontent culminated in the period after the currency reform of
June 1953. Developments in Czechoslovakia, however, were part of an overall crisis of
the Soviet bloc, which peaked in the first half of 1953 and was partly controlled by the
so-called New Course, which eliminated some of the worst excesses and disparities of
the Stalinist regime.
Libor Svoboda
National security in the České Budějovice region in 1953
In 1953, five years had passed since February 1948 and it saw the communist regime
established in Czechoslovakia and managing to overcome a severe crisis it encoun-
tered during that critical year of 1953. This is, of course, reflected in the develop-
ment of an important unit of the communist security apparatus, the political police
called State Security (StB), which formed one of the most important pillars of power
in the post-February political regime. The history of the secret police has not been
adequately addressed until now, and if any work is discovered dealing with this is-
sue, it is usually more about the history of this institution on a national scale, while
knowledge of its operation at the regional level has still not been treated. To remedy
this situation, this contribution focuses on the history of the State Police in southern
Bohemia in 1953. This paper mainly deals with personnel issues (the status of mem-
bers, etc.) and the activity of the organization itself in the region of České Budějovice,
475
i.e. the number of persons arrested and tried, the characteristics of so-called subver-
sive activities, agency work, etc. This paper is largely based on an analysis of archival
material from the activity of the StB itself and the regional state and party organs.
Jakub Slouf
The collapse of the local party and security apparatus during demonstrations in
Pilsen on 1 June 1953
The implementation of currency reform in 1953 overburdened the lower echelons of
the party and state apparatus on a political, administrative and security level. First
of all, a hastily organized campaign by rank-and-file communists to convince people
of the correctness of the reform completely failed. Party structures were paralyzed
by stormy discussions and lost influence in talks with the public. Security forces
were fully occupied with guarding exchange centers, and therefore were unable to
respond to the growth of wider unrest. In the particular circumstances of the Pilsen
region, the unprecedented conditions were therefore favorable for mass protests by
the inhabitants. Although only a small part of the citizenry of Pilsen took part in
the demonstrations, there was an overall breakdown of authority of the state institu-
tions. Especially indicative in this respect was the passivity of the core membership
of the party and some uniformed security personnel who were reluctant to intervene
against the demonstrators. Complete confusion reigned supreme in the regional par-
ty leadership and security and state power temporarily ceased to exist locally.
Marek Smid
Pope Pius XII and post-war Czechoslovakia
This study addresses the relationship of Pope Pius XII (1939-1958) to postwar
Czechoslovakia in the context of the political and religious development of the post-
war period. It analyzes the position of the Pope to post-war Europe, i.e. Czechoslo-
vak society, which it warned about a tilt towards communism. It simultaneously fol-
lows the renewed Czechoslovak-Vatican relations and opinions of Saverio Ritter, the
Apostolic Nuncio in Prague, who returned to Czechoslovakia after World War II as
internuncius, and the doyen of the diplomatic corps became the Soviet ambassador
instead of the representative of the Holy See.
This contribution provides interesting insight into Czechoslovak church history
from 1945 to the beginnings of the 1950s. It maps out the links of leading exponents of
the domestic hierarchy to the Vatican and vice versa the interest of the Holy See in the
events taking place in Czechoslovakia, which was made clear to not only the dignitaries
in the country, but also to the European public, such as the papal blessing Urbi et Orbi
on 28 March 1948, which commented on the recent tragic events in Central Europe.
This study emphasizes the Popes opposition to communism, which was nothing
new in the post-war conditions, but followed up earlier criticisms by the Vatican,
especially the hard stance taken by Pius XI during the 1920s and 30s. Pius criticism
culminated in 1949, when the Pope excommunicated those believers who defended
476
and promoted materialistic and anti-Christian communist principles. The commu-
nist regime reacted aggressively and decided to liquidate its heaviest and most tena-
cious enemy, the Catholic Church. Difficult years, however, were still in store for the
Catholic Church.
This work is based on numerous domestic and foreign studies and published sources.
Pavla Štorková
Mapping out the propaganda campaign of agitation to support collectivization
This contribution addresses the summer propaganda campaign to support the har-
vest in the countryside of Czechoslovakia in 1953 and maps out the agitation by
officials of the Pardubice Regional Peoples Committee to convince farmers to join
the collective farm. Their plan called for an awareness campaign set out as a major
policy objective for the socialization of villages, which was supposed to result in the
development and consolidation of a single agricultural cooperative, the fulfillment
of production targets, and also in educating working people to constantly develop
their socialist consciousness. Using the example of the former Polička district and
especially the village of Rohozná in Svitavsko, this work describes the propaganda
and agitation activity played out in the villages. The village of Rohozná was not rep-
resented in a single collective farm in 1953 and the author documents the agitation-
propaganda efforts of communist officials to force inhabitants to cooperate and join
the collective farm.
Lucia Šulejová
The collapse of single farm cooperatives in the Prešov region in 1953 as an indica-
tion of resistance by farmers to collectivization
Since 1952, the ongoing crisis of the collectivization process in Prešov under the
effects of events in 1953 (the introduction of a new system of ransom, cancellation
of the ticket system for food and industrial goods, monetary reform) fully broke
out and farmers were publicly expressing what they thought about collectivization.
Their responses oscillated between ignoring working in the agricultural cooperative,
verbal statements about working in the agricultural cooperative, and actively con-
tributing to the disintegration or paralysis of the agricultural cooperative to separate
individual violent acts against the leadership of the agricultural cooperative, local
party officials and members of the National Security Corps.
Prokop Tomek
Leaflet operations by Radio Free Europe
Leaflet operations by Radio Free Europe is a half-forgotten topic. At the time it rep-
resented one of the remarkable attributes of the Cold War. The results of these opera-
tions appear to be at least questionable. Not much is known about their background
and the actual intentions of the initiators.
477
Some of the noteworthy aspects of these campaigns include the use of balloons as
unique methods of propaganda warfare. Although they scattered hundreds of mil-
lions of leaflets over the territory of Czechoslovakia, today only a few have been
sporadically preserved in archives and museums. It was still the largest project ever
of sending leaflets by air to Czechoslovakia. One interesting fact for international
comparisons is that the balloon projects of Radio Free Europe directed at Czechoslo-
vakia were the largest. Similar projects were directed towards Hungary and Poland,
but on a much more modest scale.
There were three operations. In 1951 operation “Winds of Freedom”, in 1953 ope-
ration “Prospero”, and in the years 1954-1956 the largest operation “Veto”
The actual impact of delivering information by balloons could not be indepen-
dently determined at that time. The immense scale of the operation and the annoyed
reaction of the regime suggests that the anticipated result was achieved in a certain
sense. According to what is known today about U.S. foreign policy at the time of
President Eisenhower, there was no doubt that the intention of the balloon operati-
ons was to pave the way for any change with American involvement behind the Iron
Curtain. The main objective was to unsettle and engage the enemy and perhaps cause
him some damage by forcing him to mobilize the local population.
Ludek Vacin
Devastated by a cruel blow versus thank God, he’s gone: the death of Klement
Gottwald in the eyes of the Czechoslovak public
This paper deals with reactions to the death of Klement Gottwald in Czechoslovak
society. The introductory passage describes the actual course of the last moments
of his life, which today remain the subject of speculation similar to those that were
circulated among people immediately after the presidents death. A survey of the
political rituals accompanying the period of national mourning and funeral of K.
Gottwald follows.
These included the compilation and transmission of the required condolences of
the ruling group, and the resolutions and commitments of various organizations by
the central authorities of the Communist Party, which is dealt with in the following
section. These official, written responses to the leaders death are among the most
telling examples of the Stalinist regime communicating to the people through formal
pseudo-religious rhetoric. They served to strengthen the legitimacy of the regime at
a critical moment with the loss of the leader and to maintain the illusion of the unity
of all groups of citizens willing to take part in building the new order.
The real sentiments of Czechoslovaks who expressed their feelings outside the pub-
lic sphere were naturally under the scrutiny of the security organs. Their reports about
public opinion for party authorities at the local and national level are used in the next
part of the contribution. The three themes that stick out in the surviving reports show
people eagerly discussing it and the security forces devoting considerable attention to
them. They concerned speculation about the cause of Gottwalds death and future po-
litical arrangements, the invective and symbolic acts of resistance against the regime,
478
and finally the hope for a change in the political structure as expressed by minor inci-
dents, leaflet operations, and even attempts at greater resistance activities.
A comparison of the public and private comments on the death of K. Gottwald
shows that the communist regime, despite all the efforts of the first five years of its
dictatorship, did not have the thinking of the population under control, and that the
support of all those who favored it by virtue of their social origin and political beliefs
was still very uncertain despite the official declarations.
Vladimir Varinskÿ
1953 - The culmination of crisis developments in agriculture in Slovakia
This contribution points to some new facts in the implementation of agricultural
policy adopted in 1953 ֊ 1954, and on their results that were much different from
the expected ones. First of all, it points to the evident effort to allow the existence
of objective reasons for the lag in agriculture that found its opinion in the demand
to substantially increase investment in agriculture in order to achieve a higher level
of mechanization. A new method was used to present the share of the socialist and
private sector in output of production and food tasks. In principle, the idea was re-
viewed that the very existence of small-scale identified with the cause of slow de-
velopment of agricultural production and those responsible for the situation had to
admit that without the support of the private sector an increase in production and
purchasing tasks could not be expected in the nearest time. At the same time, there
occurred for the first time an effort to make space for the execution of tasks even on
the basis of physical stimulation and an initiative “from below”. This should facili-
tate complex measures in exchange and management and planning in agriculture.
Despite the significant increase in the prices of agricultural products, the reduction
of delivery standards and a partial decentralization of a management and planning,
the results achieved were far from the expected ones. Instead of stimulating the de-
velopment of gross agricultural production and market production, they only led to
an increase in the revenue of agricultural producers, while both gross production or
market output stagnated in subsequent years.
479
|
| any_adam_object | 1 |
| author2 | Petráš, Jiří 1963- Svoboda, Libor |
| author2_role | edt edt |
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| author_GND | (DE-588)1015198767 |
| author_facet | Petráš, Jiří 1963- Svoboda, Libor |
| building | Verbundindex |
| bvnumber | BV041779221 |
| classification_rvk | NQ 8275 |
| ctrlnum | (OCoLC)879187055 (DE-599)BVBBV041779221 |
| discipline | Geschichte |
| edition | 1. vyd. |
| era | Geschichte 1953 gnd |
| era_facet | Geschichte 1953 |
| format | Book |
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| genre | (DE-588)1071861417 Konferenzschrift 1953 Budweis gnd-content |
| genre_facet | Konferenzschrift 1953 Budweis |
| geographic | Tschechoslowakei (DE-588)4078435-6 gnd |
| geographic_facet | Tschechoslowakei |
| id | DE-604.BV041779221 |
| illustrated | Illustrated |
| indexdate | 2024-12-24T04:05:12Z |
| institution | BVB |
| institution_GND | (DE-588)16015883-7 |
| isbn | 9788087211984 9788087311387 |
| language | Czech |
| oai_aleph_id | oai:aleph.bib-bvb.de:BVB01-027225071 |
| oclc_num | 879187055 |
| open_access_boolean | |
| owner | DE-M457 DE-12 DE-11 |
| owner_facet | DE-M457 DE-12 DE-11 |
| physical | 523 S. Ill. |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publishDateSearch | 2014 |
| publishDateSort | 2014 |
| publisher | Ústav pro Studium Totalitních Režimů [u.a.] |
| record_format | marc |
| spellingShingle | Osm let po válce rok 1953 v Československu |
| subject_GND | (DE-588)4078435-6 (DE-588)1071861417 |
| title | Osm let po válce rok 1953 v Československu |
| title_auth | Osm let po válce rok 1953 v Československu |
| title_exact_search | Osm let po válce rok 1953 v Československu |
| title_full | Osm let po válce rok 1953 v Československu Jiří Petráš ... (eds.) |
| title_fullStr | Osm let po válce rok 1953 v Československu Jiří Petráš ... (eds.) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Osm let po válce rok 1953 v Československu Jiří Petráš ... (eds.) |
| title_short | Osm let po válce |
| title_sort | osm let po valce rok 1953 v ceskoslovensku |
| title_sub | rok 1953 v Československu |
| topic_facet | Tschechoslowakei Konferenzschrift 1953 Budweis |
| url | https://www.recensio.net/r/c24622e18aa8442c96bac9b17a2023e3 http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=027225071&sequence=000002&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=027225071&sequence=000004&line_number=0002&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA |
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