Today we have with us Lani Seelinger of Socialism Realised which is an excellent website and learning environment that uses multimedia content as teaching aids about the communist regimes in Europe. Using the Czechoslovak example, they describe the specifics of life in the Eastern bloc. Their material attempts to bring the experiences, thoughts, feelings and problems of people who lived during this era to life. Their aim is to reproduce the complexities and dilemmas of life under communism. I do recommend you check them out at www.Socialismrealised.eu
In today’s episode we return to Czechoslovakia and one of the most iconic moments of the Cold War – The Prague Spring of 1968.
Some of you will have seen the film of Alexander Dubcek and the adoring crowds as well as the powerful images of the Warsaw Pact invasion. Our chat shows that beneath those images there’s more nuances and I hope you find the episode insightful and entertaining.
I am delighted to welcome Lani Seelinger.
Contemporary Film of the Prague Spring
Pathe news report on the Prague Spring
Josef Koudelka’s photos of -Prague’68
Rare colour film of 1968 Warsaw Pact Invasion
Prague 1968 Seven Days To Remember
Contemporary footage of the Warsaw Pact invasion
Czechoslovakia Vs Soviet Union 1969 Ice Hockey Match
Places:
National Monument at Vitkov Hill:
Jan Palach memorial on Wenceslaus Square:
Jan Palach memorial off Jan Palach Square:
Soundtrack to the Prague Spring
Karel Gott in 1968:
Tausend Fenster, which he oddly sang in German, representing Austria in Eurovision in 1968
Marta Kubišová in 1968:
Modlitba pro Martu (Prayer for Marta), which the opening of the video says is the “song of the year”:
Books:
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, Kundera
Nightfrost in Prague, Zdeněk Mlynář
Czechoslovakia’s Interrupted Revolution, Skilling
The Prague Spring and its Aftermath, Kieran Williams
Documentary Films
Documentary in english on the Prague Spring
Documentary on the End of the Prague Spring
Ceske Stoleti – The Czech Century
Other Films:
Those Wonderful Years That Sucked