Presentations of National Cultures. Fifty-one texts illustrate the evolution of modernism in the east-European region. Essays, articles, poems, or excerpts from longer works offer new opportunities of possible comparisons of the respective national cultures, from the different ideological approaches and finessing projects of how to create the modern state liberal, conservative, socialist and others to the literary and scientific attempts at squaring the circle of individual and collective identities.

The classic reference work that provides annually updated information on the countries of the world.

The material effects of World War II, in combination with Eastern Europe's disappointingly undemocratic interwar history, placed radical social change on the postwar agenda across the region and shaped the debates that took place in immediate postwar Czech society. These debates adopted both a cultural form, in struggles over the meaning of the recent past and the nation's position on the East-West continuum, and a directly political form, in battles over the meaning of socialism. The Struggle for the Soul of the Nation examines the most important and politically resonant fields of historical and cultural debate in Czech society immediately after World War II. Bradley Abrams finds that communist public figures were largely successful in controlling debate over the nation's recent past--the interwar First Republic and the experiences of Munich and World War II--and over its location on the East-West continuum. This success preceded and was mirrored in the struggles over the political issue of the times: socialism. The communists engaged their political foes in the democratic socialist and Roman Catholic camps, and, surprisingly, found significant support from a major Protestant church. Abrams's careful reading of major publications re-creates a postwar mood sympathetic to radical social change, questioning the standard view of the communists' rise to power. This book not only contributes to the specific literature on Czech history, but also raises questions about the relationship between war and radical social change, about the communist takeover of the region, and about the role of intellectuals in public life.

Political Dreams and Musical Themes in the 1848–1922 Formation of Czechoslovakia: Interaction of National and Global Forces characterizes the 1918–22 formation of Czechoslovakia as a consequence of political and musical expressions. Nationalist expressions and formations were striking after the 1848 Revolution. The authors explore how the music of Smetana, Janáček, and Dvořák inspired people with reminders about the important achievements of past Bohemian leaders. Under the control of the Vienna-based Habsburg Empire, Czech leaders also achieved more political representation in both Habsburg and Bohemian legislatures, and Slovaks made some national progress in at least asserting their demands to Budapest and its controlling Magyar Empire. During the early twentieth century, there was additional pressure to link up these nationalist movements in both music and politics with regional “modernist” approaches that were increasingly popular in other parts of Europe. The outbreak of World War I in 1914 opened up opportunities, such as joint participation in the Czechoslovak Legion, for the two key ethnic groups to forge a Czechoslovak state. Independence took place, with considerable western support, on October 28, 1918, and the commemorative concert two days later of compositions by Josef Suk put the final stamp on a considerable achievement that bore the hallmarks of globalism as well as nationalism.

Provides a systematic history from prehistory to the establishment of the Czech Republic.