Looking back | Visegradrevue

János Deme

3. 6. 2013

Dead Ends of the Socialist Arms Race: Abandoned Soviet Barracks in Central Europe

We gathered with friends in a remote settlement in the Great Hungarian Plain in 1988 to take ownership of our latest purchase, a Commodore 64 computer. It was high-tech. We connected the smuggled Western German hard-drive to a Soviet television and managed to install a homemade copy of the American game Raid Over Moscow. Then we simply had to take off with our fighter jets, fly over Soviet airspace in order to reach the capital of the Soviet Union and start bombing the Kremlin. We operated on 8 bits and repeated our action thirty times a day, at least. It was not an easy job but utterly realistic.

Looking back

Patrycja Bukalska

18. 1. 2013

Alina Skibińska: We are simply oversensitive as far as Polish honour is concerned

It is not news that Poles are passionate about the past, yet the recent debate about the movie Pokłosie [Aftermath] raised further questions about where Poles are in their understanding of history.

Looking back

Jan Čulík

24. 10. 2012

Slovaks In Czech Films: Mistresses And The Others

It has been almost twenty years since the division of Czechoslovakia. With no border controls between the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and thousands of Slovaks living and working in Prague, one might wonder what do Czechs know (and want to know) about their former fellow-citizens? Having a look at Czech films is a good way to find out.

Looking back

Jan Adamec

18. 9. 2012

Sense and Sensibility: The Case of Czechoslovakia

A provocative book by historian Mary Heimann that focuses on the troubled relationship of Czechoslovakia to its German and Hungarian populations after 1918 is titled Czechoslovakia – The State That Failed. This verdict – the state that failed – might seem harsh in light of all the emotions that surround the break-up of the state. Yet it invites us to rethink the origins of states and their dissolution and question, whether states are in fact something more than rationally chosen constructions in the realm of the possible.

Looking back

Dušan Kováč

17. 7. 2012

Masaryk And The Slovaks

The relationship of T. G. Masaryk, the founding president of the First Czechoslovak Republic, with Slovaks has been subject to a number of heated articles. It might seem as a paradox, since the usual icons of Slovak nationhood, such as Ľudovít Štúr or Andrej Hlinka, have never been subject to so much polemics about their relationships with the Slovaks. So, why has Masaryk’s ‘Slovakness’ been so contested despite the fact that Masaryk declared himself to be Czech, Slovak and Czechoslovak at the same time?

Looking back

Tomáš Zahradníček

11. 5. 2012

Searching for Wałęsa in Bohemia

Tracing the historical Czech perception of of Lech Wałęsa requires the work of a detective. In comparison, Václav Havel, another hero of the anticommunist revolutions in the former Soviet bloc, left a large body of writing that targeted not only local audiences but international ones. The power of Lech Wałęsa, however, lies in his interaction with a domestic audience.

Looking back

Pavol Szalai

2. 4. 2012

Waking up from Havel’s Dream

Democracy, the free market, and the transatlantic bond were the three pillars of Václav Havel’s vision of Central Europe. And while the former dissident and Czechoslovak President witnessed these things come true, by the end of his life, he saw them eroded as much by Central Europe as by its role model, the West. Mitteleuropa is again at a crossroads.

Looking back

Olga Gyárfášová

27. 3. 2012

V4′s Historical Hero – Mr. Nobody

Central Europe has always been an ethnically and nationally heterogeneous space in which periods of peaceful coexistence alternated with wars. The centuries of mutual accusations, grievances, accumulated resentments remain today a heavy burden. What is the reflection of all the common past in the historical consciousness of Visegrad citizens?

Looking back

Jan Adamec

27. 3. 2012

Visegrad before Visegrad

During my studies in Budapest almost a decade ago, our teacher of the Hungarian language, a merry lady in her 50s, summarized her generation´s wisdom with a Nem is gazdag, nem is szégény, poszt-szocialista vagyok – I am neither rich, nor poor, I am post-socialist. She attempted to share her unique “real socialism” experience with the youngsters, most of whom already viewed the pre-1989 period as distant history.

Looking back

Marek Sečkař

26. 3. 2012

Who Václav Havel Was and Who He Wasn’t

Much has been said about Václav Havel since his death on December 18th, 2011. So much that it would be nearly impossible to avoid repeating the words of others. But still, he was and remains my hero – and for this reason I can’t manage to keep silent in the face of his passing. Therefore, I’d like to begin by sharing a personal memory.