Television and Totalitarianism in Czechoslovakia : From the First Democratic Republic to the Fall of Communism

The story of Czechoslovak television is in many respects typical of the cultural and political developments in Central Europe, behind the Iron Curtain. Martin Štoll, with unprecedented access to the Military Historical Archives in Prague, provides contextual insights into the issues of introducing television in the whole Socialist Bloc (save China, Mongolia and Cuba), from the introduction of television broadcasting in Czechoslovakia in 1921 through to the 1968 occupation and the Velvet revolution in 1989 – encapsulating an important point in media history within two totalitarian states. Television and Totalitarianism in Czechoslovakia examines the variability of political interests as reflected on television in interwar Czechoslovakia, including Nazi research on television technology in the Czech borderlands (Sudetenland), the quarrel over the outcomes of this research as war booty with the Red Army, the beginning of the Czechoslovak technological journey, and, finally, the institutionalized foundation of Czechoslovak television, including the first years of its broadcasting as a manifestation of Communist propaganda. Revised and expanded from the Czech to include broader contexts for an English-speaking audience, Štoll expertly elucidates the historical, cultural, social, political, and technological frameworks to provide the first comprehensive study of the subject. Cover Half Title Title Copyrights Faculty of Social Sciences Dedication Contents List of Abbreviations Acknowledgements Preface Introduction 1 The silent majorities, Sovietization, and ‘life within a lie’ The specificities of East European socialisms In the shadow of Stalin’s Statue – Communism in Czechoslovakia PRELUDE: Television as a concept between democracy and Nazism CONTEXTUAL BOX No. 1: Czechoslovakia – The first democratic republic 1918–1938 2 Radio context: Among the first in Europe 3 Pioneers of television Jaroslav Šafránek – the Czech Baird 4 Television as a political matter A matter of all-state importance CONTEXTUAL BOX No. 2: The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia 1939–1945 5 In the hands of the military What was left after the Nazi occupation Czechoslovak army attempts to seize control of television What was left after the liberation Czechoslovak military television is born! THE MAIN ACT: Television should serve the Communist ideology 6 Context of Soviet approaches in the televisual space of the Eastern Bloc Taking over the organizational patterns Television content The expansion and keeping of the colossus CONTEXTUAL BOX No. 3: Czechoslovakia – Prelude to communism, 1945–1948 7 New totalitarianism on the horizon Radio means power Television harvest 1948 CONTEXTUAL BOX No. 4: Czechoslovakia – Stalinism 1948–1960 8 The birth of television in Stalinist Czechoslovakia How the communists began to need television 1 May 1953 – we are broadcasting! Experimental broadcasting 9 On its own feet Television truly Czechoslovak A sisterly division CONTEXTUAL BOX No. 5: The golden sixties in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic 1961–1970 10 The birth of a TV nation The helplessness of political power, the power of television The fall of censorship and the Prague Spring 11 Occupation in 1968: We keep broadcasting! Reaction of power Fear of the first anniversary and reflections on the Prague Spring CONTEXTUAL BOX No. 6: Normalization and post-totalitarianism in Czechoslovakia 1970–1989 12 Television as the last instrument of power Color television in the black-and-white normalization period Fear of the opposition 13 Television as a participant of the Velvet Revolution CODA: Towards public service CONTEXTUAL BOX No. 7: The Czech and Slovak federal republics’ return to democracy, 1989–1992 14 The birth of a public broadcaster Conclusion Bibliography Sources of pictures About the author Index "The story of Czechoslovak television is in many respects typical of the cultural and political developments in Central Europe, behind the Iron Curtain. Martin Štoll, with unprecedented access to the Military Historical Archives in Prague, provides contextual insights into the issues of introducing television in the whole Socialist Bloc (save China, Mongolia and Cuba), from the introduction of television broadcasting in Czechoslovakia in 1921 through to the 1968 occupation and the Velvet revolution in 1989 - encapsulating an important point in media history within two totalitarian states. Television and Totalitarianism in Czechoslovakia examines the variability of political interests as reflected on television in interwar Czechoslovakia, including Nazi research on television technology in the Czech borderlands (Sudetenland), the quarrel over the outcomes of this research as war booty with the Red Army, the beginning of the Czechoslovak technological journey, and, finally, the institutionalized foundation of Czechoslovak television, including the first years of its broadcasting as a manifestation of Communist propaganda. Revised and expanded from the Czech to include broader contexts for an English-speaking audience, Štoll expertly elucidates the historical, cultural, social, political, and technological frameworks to provide the first comprehensive study of the subject." --Bloomsbury Publishing The story of Czechoslovak television is in many respects typical of the cultural and political developments in Central Europe, behind the Iron Curtain. Martin Stoll, with unprecedented access to the Military Historical Archives in Prague, provides contextual insights into the issues of introducing television in the whole Socialist Bloc (save China, Mongolia and Cuba), from the introduction of television broadcasting in Czechoslovakia in 1921 through to the 1968 occupation and the Velvet Revolution in 1989 - encapsulating an important point in media history within two totalitarian states. Television and Totalitarianism in Czechoslovakia examines the variability of political interests as reflected on television in interwar Czechoslovakia, including Nazi research on television technology in the Czech borderlands (Sudetenland), the quarrel over the outcomes of this research as war booty with the Red Army, the beginning of the Czechoslovak technological journey, and, finally, the institutionalized foundation of Czechoslovak television, including the first years of its broadcasting as a manifestation of Communist propaganda. Revised and expanded from the Czech to include broader contexts for an English-speaking audience, Stoll expertly elucidates the historical, cultural, social, political, and technological frameworks to provide the first comprehensive study of the subject. The story of Czechoslovak television is in many respects typical of the cultural and political development in Central Europe, behind the Iron Curtain. Martin Štoll, with unprecedented access to the Military Historical Archive in Prague, provides contextual insights into the issues of introducing television in the whole Socialist Bloc (save China, Mongolia and Cuba), from the introduction of television broadcasting in Czechoslovakia in 1921 through to the 1968 occupation and the Velvet Revolution in 1989-- encapsulating an important point in media history within two totalitarian states. Television and Totalitarianism in Czechoslovakia examines the variability of political interests as reflected on television in interwar Czechoslovakia, including Nazi research on television technology in the Czech borderlands (Sudetenland), the quarrel over the outcomes of this research as war booty with the Red Army, the beginning of the Czechoslovak technological journey, and, finally, the institutionalized foundation of Czechoslovak television, including the first years of its broadcasting as a manifestation of Communist propaganda. Revised and expanded from the Czech to include broader contexts for an English-speaking audience, Stoll expertly elucidates the historical, cultural, social, political, and technological frameworks to provide the first comprehensive study of the subject