Budweisers Into Czechs and Germans : A Local History of Bohemian Politics, 1848-1948

This history of a single town in Bohemia casts new light on nationalism in Central Europe between the Springtime of Nations in 1848 and the Cold War. Jeremy King tells the story of both German and Czech-speaking Budweis/Budæjovice, which belonged to the Habsburg Monarchy until 1918, and then to Czechoslovakia, Hitler's Third Reich, and Czechoslovakia again. Residents, at first simply "Budweisers," or Habsburg subjects with mostly local loyalties, gradually became Czechs or Germans. Who became Czech, though, and who German? What did it mean to be one or the other? In answering these questions, King shows how an epochal, region-wide contest for power found expression in Budweis/Budæjovice not only through elections but through clubs, schools, boycotts, breweries, a remarkable constitutional experiment, a couple of riots, and much more. In tracing the nationalization of politics from small and sometimes comic beginnings to the genocide and mass expulsions of the 1940s, he also rejects traditional interpretive frameworks. Writing not a national history but a history of nationhood, both Czech and German, King recovers a nonnational dimension to the past. Embodied locally by Budweisers and more generally by the Habsburg state, that dimension has long been blocked from view by a national rhetoric of race and ethnicity. King's Czech-Habsburg-German narrative, in addition to capturing the dynamism and complexity of Bohemian politics, participates in broader scholarly discussions concerning the nature of nationalism. This History Of A Single Town In Bohemia Casts New Light On Nationalism In Central Europe Between The Springtime Of Nations In 1848 And The Cold War. Jeremy King Tells The Story Of Both German And Czech-speaking Budweis/budejovice, Which Belonged To The Habsburg Monarchy Until 1918, And Then To Czechoslovakia, Hitler's Third Reich, And Czechoslovakia Again. Residents, At First Simply Budweisers, Or Habsburg Subjects With Mostly Local Loyalties, Gradually Became Czechs Or Germans. Who Became Czech, Though, And Who German? What Did It Mean To Be One Or The Other?--jacket. Introduction : Budweisers Into Czechs And Germans -- Politics In Flux, 1848-1871 -- A More Broad And National Politics, 1871-1890 -- Free-for-all, 1890-1902 -- Toward A Multinational State, 1902-1918 -- Bohemian Politics Reframed, 1918-1945 -- Conclusion : Budweis Buried, 1945-1948. Jeremy King. Paperback Published, 2005. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [255]-273) And Index. "This history of a single town in Bohemia casts new light on nationalism in Central Europe between the Springtime of Nations in 1848 and the Cold War. Jeremy King tells the story of both German and Czech-speaking Budweis/Budejovice, which belonged to the Habsburg Monarchy until 1918, and then to Czechoslovakia, Hitler's Third Reich, and Czechoslovakia again. Residents, at first simply "Budweisers," or Habsburg subjects with mostly local loyalties, gradually became Czechs or Germans. Who became Czech, though, and who German? What did it mean to be one or the other? In answering these questions, King shows how an epochal, region-wide contest for power found expression in Budweis/Budejovice not only through elections but through clubs, schools, boycotts, breweries, a remarkable constitutional experiment, a couple of riots, and much more."--BOOK JACKET Frontmatter List of Illustrations (page vii) Preface (page xiii) Introduction Budweisers into Czechs and Germans (page 1) Chapter One Politics in Flux, 1848-1871 (page 15) Chapter Two A More Broad and National Politics, 1871-1890 (page 48) Chapter Three Free-for-All, 1890-1902 (page 80) Chapter Four Toward a Multinational State, 1902-1918 (page 114) Chapter Five Bohemian Politics Reframed, 1918-1945 (page 153) Conclusion Budweis Buried, 1945-1948 (page 189) Notes (page 213) Bibliography (page 255) Index (page 275) In the year 1265, at the behest of Otto/Otakar II of Premysl, the King of Bohemia, colonists speaking a Germanic language created a new settlement near the confluence of the Maltsch/Malse and Moldau/Vltava Rivers.