#Tomáš masaryk

[dragoneyes618]

The blood libel is a centuries-old odious antisemitic canard that was used to accuse Jews of murdering Christian children and obtaining the victims’ blood in accordance with the “kosher rules” for the slaughter of animals, and using their blood in the performance of religious rituals, especially the baking of matzot for Passover. Ritual murder claims against the Jews often arose in the context of the otherwise unexplained murders of children and, in many cases, the alleged victims of human sacrifice have become venerated as Christian martyrs.

The origin of this slander against the Jewish people – which included allegations that they poisoned wells and desecrated the “host” – can be traced back to the Crusades, with the first recorded libel occurring in Fulda, Germany, in 1235. Countless recorded cases of blood libel resulted in the arrest and murder of Jews and, with the allegations against individuals often expanding to accusations against all the Jewish people, entire Jewish communities were persecuted, expelled, and murdered.

The most notorious antisemitic political trial was arguably the Dreyfus Affair in France (1894 – 1906) and, although Dreyfus was accused of treason, not ritual murder, the course of the trial and its consequences were similar in many ways to historic blood libel cases. It was in this environment that the notorious Hilsner Affair began.

Leopold Hilsner (1876 -1928) was a physically and mentally limited 23-year-old unemployed Jewish vagabond journeyman with a history of petty theft who lived with his mother in a basement of a German Jewish school paid for by the charitable Polná Jewish community in Bohemia. The Hilsner Affair was a series of antisemitic trials in which he was accused of murdering Anežka Hrůzová, a local 19-year-old Czech Catholic, and using her blood for Jewish rituals. On the afternoon of March 29, 1899, which was Ash Wednesday, Hrůzová, a seamstress, left her place of employment in Polná, a German-speaking town of about 5,000 people, including 212 Jews, in eastern Bohemia about 60 miles from Prague. She set out on her two-mile walk along her usual route running alongside the Březina woods to her home adjacent to the Jewish quarter in the Czech village of Malá Vĕžnice, but she never arrived.

Three days later – on April 1, 1899, the day before Easter – her body was discovered in the forest face down and partially clothed with her throat slit and her bloodied head wrapped in part of her torn blouse. Next to the body, investigators found clothing torn near a pool of blood, some blood-stained stones, parts of her garments, and a rope with which she had been either strangled to death or dragged post-mortem to the place where the corpse was found. Because her disappearance had taken place during Passover and very little blood was found near her body, the authorities quickly concluded that the Christian girl had been murdered by a Jew, who had taken her blood to bake matzot for the holiday. The notorious antisemitic Austrian priest, Father Josef Deckert, published one of the first pamphlets alleging that Anežka was the victim of ritual murder; the Jew-hating Vienna newspaper, Deutsches Volksblatt, piled on; and the Austrian public lost no time in perpetrating the blood libel.

The investigating detectives turned their attention to Hilsner and they focused on his alleged ritual murder motive to the extent that they ignored all other suspects and disregarded all evidence that did not fit into their pre-determined narrative. For example, they never checked out allegations that Anežka was killed by her brother, Jan, who fled to the United States. In 1961, a report spread in Czechoslovakia that Jan made a hospital deathbed confession that he had murdered his sister to put himself in position to inherit their parents’ entire estate. The Czechoslovakian-born Israeli chargé d’affaires in Prague, Eliahu Kurt Livne, gathered evidence about the report and forwarded it to Israel’s Foreign Office, but the deathbed confession story was never confirmed.

A police search of Hilsner’s house yielded no incriminating evidence, and he maintained that he had left the city on the afternoon of the murder long before it could have been committed. Nonetheless, although there was no basis at all to charge him, the local aristocracy and the seditious press urged his prosecution and he was arrested. On the very day of his being taken into custody, hundreds of protestors entered the Jewish quarter and began throwing stones at windows and attacking Jewish shops – evocative of the Kristallnacht that would take place 39 years later – and rioting against Jews throughout Bohemia and Moravia continued throughout the Affair.

At his murder trial on September 12-16, 1899, Hilsner denied all knowledge of the crime. The only alleged physical evidence against him was a pair of damp trousers on which some stains were found, which testifying chemical experts said “might” have been blood and which they said “looked like” an attempt had been made to wash it. One witness had informed the legal committee set up by the local authorities to investigate the crime (which paid for such testimony) that she had seen Hilsner from 2,000 feet away (!) together with two other Jews at the scene of the crime on the day of the murder, but when she later saw Hilsner at his trial, she admitted that she could not be certain he was the same man that she had seen. Nonetheless, the court, after denying several requests by Hilsner’s counsel to test the chief witness’s eyesight, accepted her incriminating “eyewitness” testimony.

Media coverage of the investigation, including particularly in Catholic, Czech nationalist and antisemitic newspapers, focused on Hilsner’s Judaism, the proximity of the murder to Passover, and the ancient blood libel. Similarly, the local medical examiners, emphasizing that the victim’s body had been nearly completely emptied of blood (and that, therefore, the blood had to have been removed by the killer for nefarious purposes), responded to leading questions put to them by the court by raising the blood libel. Karel Baxa, a radical right-wing nationalist politician who served as counsel for the victim’s family and was named by the antisemitic press as “the savior of Christendom,” focused obsessively on the idea of Jewish ritual murder throughout the trial. In the prosecutor’s closing argument, he left little to doubt about Hilsner’s motive: “Disgusting people, people of another race, people who have acted like animals, have murdered a virtuous Christian virgin so that they could use her blood.”

Exhibited here is the Kol Koreh against the blood libel issued by the Rabbis of London in December 1899 during the Hilsner Affair:

A SOLEMN DECLARATION TO ALL THE NATIONS: We have learned, with grief and indignation, that the most hideous calumny which malice and hatred ever invented, is now being again revived against our people. The terrible accusation is made by evil-disposed persons, and industriously circulated by the antisemitic press, that Jews require human blood for their Passover ritual, or for some other religious rite, public or secret, and that Christian children are consequently entrapped and slaughtered for that purpose. We should have hoped that no person of sense would attach the slightest credence to this fable, which, though published against us in olden times of persecution and intolerance, has never been supported by a tittle of evidence. It is, moreover, directly at variance with all the well-known laws and customs of Judaism, as handed down to us by our books and traditions, and its falsehood has been acknowledged by eminent heads of the Church and proved by non-Jewish scholars. But as, unfortunately, there are still people who seem to believe this legend of Ritual Murder, and as this belief has lately led to acts of violence and other persecutions being inflicted on Jews in many parts of Austria, and to the spread of ill-will and hatred in many other places, we deem it right to publish this our Solemn Declaration, however painful the necessity for such action on our part. We solemnly, sincerely, and truly declare and affirm that in no book ever written by any man professing the Jewish religion, is there contained any ordinance or direction relating to the use of human blood at the Passover festival, or at any of our celebrations or rites, whether public or domestic. We, the undersigned, holding Rabbinical offices, are the disciples of Rabbis, who have been conversant with every detail of Jewish usage and history, and who have communicated to us all the knowledge of Hebrew law and tradition which they possessed, and we have never heard of such ordinance, direction, custom or usage, whether public or secret, as existing among any community or section of Jews. And whenever our teachers have spoken to us about this allegation of “ritual murder,” they have denounced it as foul and unfunded slander, as we ourselves declare it to be. And we, will all solemnity, and in the presence of Almighty G-d and man, make our Declaration, as the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Although testimony at trial established that Hilsner was incapable of such a violent act – indeed, the doctors believed him too weak to fight alone against the much more vital Anežka – he and two unidentified coconspirators (no attempt was ever made to find these alleged accomplices and to bring them to justice) were convicted of aggravated murder and Hilsner was sentenced to death by hanging. The ramifications of the conviction were felt throughout the Austria-Hungarian empire, but most particularly in Vienna, where an antisemitic assembly, attended by Mayor Karl Lueger, presented the Jews as an international, “interconnected power that could destroy states” and that the Hilsner trial proved that the Jews “have set their foot on our necks; perhaps they want our blood as well.”

On September 20, only a few days after his first trial, Hilsner was confronted by hostile fellow prisoners, who pointed to carpenters working in the prison courtyard, informed him that gallows were being constructed for his hanging, and demanded that he name his “accomplices.” They promised him a commutation of his death sentence if he identified his collaborators and, beyond terrified, he named two Jews, Joshua Erbmann and Solomon Wassermann, as his fellows-in-crime. Perhaps due to his diminished mental capacity, fear and confusion, he reversed course several times: On September 7, he retracted his allegations against the other two Jews; on October 7, he reiterated his accusations against them; and on November 20, he again maintained that he had incorrectly named Erbmann and Wasserman. Fortunately, the alleged collaborators had airtight alibis: one had been incarcerated on the day of the murder, and the other was visiting poorhouses in Moravia at the time.

Hilsner’s counsel appealed to the Supreme Court in Vienna to overturn the verdict, but it received little attention until Tomáš G. Masaryk (1850-1937), the future first president of Czechoslovakia and then a professor of sociology at the Czech University in Prague, intervened forcefully on Hilsner’s behalf and spearheaded the appeal in the Supreme Court. He cited numerous technical errors made at trial, and he argued that the forensic work, the witness testimony, and nearly every other aspect of the case against Hilsner had been a set-up. In an 1899 pamphlet, The Need to Review the Polná Trial, he urged a complete review of the case and demanded a retrial, and in 1900, he authored The Meaning of the Polná Trial for the Blood Superstition, in which he presented a comprehensive attack on the allegation of ritual murder.

Comparisons were regularly drawn between the Dreyfus Affair and the Hilsner Affair, as evidenced by this postcard, and Masaryk was often referred to as the “Czech Zola.”

Masaryk’s involvement in the case was a gutsy and unpopular move, as he put his reputation, his career, and his future on the line to defend the Jewish people in general, and Hilsner in particular, against the loathsome blood libel. Standing virtually alone in the face of overwhelming hostility, he was vilified by the Church and the Czech media; his pamphlets were banned, and officials at the Czech University forced him to take a leave of absence from his teaching. Known as the “George Washington of Czechoslovakia,” Masaryk proved to be a good friend of the Jews, not only during the Hilsner Affair, but also during his term as president of Czechoslovakia (1918 – 1935).

During the Masaryk era, Czechoslovakia belonged to a small group of states that officially recognized Jewish nationality and granted Jews full civil rights. Masaryk was a strong supporter of Zionism; as he said in 1918:

The Jews will enjoy the same rights as all the other citizens of our State . . . As regards Zionism, I can only express my sympathy with it and with the national movement of the Jewish people in general, since it is of great moral significance. I have observed the Zionist and national movement of the Jews in Europe and in our own country and have come to understand that it is not a movement of political chauvinism, but one striving for the rebirth of its people.

In 1927, Masaryk visited Eretz Yisrael where, upon his arrival in Jerusalem, he was greeted with great affection by a massive crowd that included representatives of virtually every sector of the Jewish community. Heading his reception was Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, chief rabbi of the Edah HaCharedit and a staunch opponent of political Zionism, who escorted the president through the throngs and the decorated streets. In recognition of his friendship with the Jews, the kibbutz Kfar Masaryk in the Galilee was named for him.

In response to Masaryk’s filing and the publicity generated by his pamphlets, the high court ordered the medical faculty at the Czech University in Prague to review the findings of the original medical commission. In its subsequent report, the faculty issued a severe critique of the medical examiners’ criminological work, including particularly their false claim that the amount of blood at the site of Anežka’s corpse was materially less than the amount that should have been found in a violent death. Accordingly, the court nullified the original verdict and remanded the case to the Písek court for a new trial, but now Hilsner faced a second murder accusation: Marie Klímová, a servant who had disappeared on July 17, 1898. When a female body was found on October 27 in the same forest where Anežka’s body had been found, the decomposition was so advanced that the authorities could not even determine whether the girl had been murdered; nonetheless, the condition of the corpse bore some resemblance to that of the Anežka Hrůzová crime scene, which the prosecutor decided constituted sufficient basis for them to charge Hilsner with the murder.

The Supreme Court had expressly rejected the ritual murder theory, so the prosecutor, forced to find a different theory, decided to try Hilsner as a sexual predator, and the prosecution was materially assisted by the testimony of witnesses who, overnight, somehow became more certain in their testimony. For example, a witness who had previously testified that they had seen Hilsner with a knife, but could not provide any description of the weapon, was now adamant that the blade was a schochet’s knife (used by Jews in their ritual kosher slaughtering), and the “strange” Jews who a key witness had claimed she had seen accompanying Hilsner and whom she could not describe were now described in great detail. When Hilsner’s counsel showed the witnesses transcripts of their testimony at the first trial and asked them to compare with it their new testimony at the second trial, they alleged that either they had been intimidated by the judge or that their statements had been incorrectly transcribed.

After a 17-day retrial ending November 14, 1900, Hilsner was convicted of both murders and sentenced to death, but the death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1901 by Emperor Franz Josef. Hilsner’s requests for a new trial were all denied and, although he was finally pardoned by Emperor Charles I on March 24, 1918 as one of his first acts upon succeeding to the Hapsburg throne, the conviction was never annulled. (In 1919, the organization for combatting antisemitism in Austria made a futile appeal for a new trial to clear his name, but the attempt failed.) Anežka Hrůzová’s killer was never found and, although suspicions have been directed at various individuals over time, no one else was ever charged with the murders.

It is interesting to note that in writing The Trial, the celebrated novel in which a man is prosecuted by an unknown authority and is tried and convicted of a crime that is never disclosed to him, Franz Kafka was inspired by contemporary historical events, including particularly the Hilsner Affair, which took place in his own country. Allegations that Anežka Hrůzová’s cut throat was consistent with schechita requirements to make an animal kosher must have hit Kafka, the 16-year-old grandson of a shochet, particularly hard, and he was also likely affected by his father’s active involvement in the Central Association for the Preservation of Jewish Affairs, which took a strong public stand in support of Hilsner and against the blood libel hoax.

According to Gustav Janouch, a Czech poet best known for his memoir Conversations with Kafka, Kafka cited the Hilsner Affair as the starting point of his awareness of the Jewish condition: “a despised individual, considered by the surrounding world as a stranger, only tolerated – in other words, a pariah.” In Kafka’s correspondence with Milena Jesenska, one of the great loves of his life, he makes a direct reference to the Hilsner affair as a definitive example of the irrationality of antisemitism: “I cannot understand how people came to this idea of ritual murder.”

Hilsner spent the rest of his miserable life as a beggar traveling through the Hapsburg monarchy under the name Heller. He exhibited almost unimaginable ingratitude when he rebuked Masaryk after the Czech president declined to meet with him, and an almost psychotic view of his own importance when he claimed that it was he who made Masaryk famous. Hilsner’s tombstone (see exhibit) reads: “As the innocent victim of lies of ritual murder, he languished in prison for 19 years.” A plaque at his final residence reads “Here stood the house where Leopold Hilsner (1876-1928) lived before his death. As an innocent victim of a lie about a ritual murder, he suffered 19 years in jail.”

At the end of the day, the Hilsner Affair was perhaps more terrifying than the Dreyfus Affair and other antisemitic trials of the time because it revived a medieval mode of antisemitism that was theoretically incompatible with supposedly enlightened contemporary society. Jews came to understand the lesson of history, yet again, that antisemitism trumps rationality and modernism.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

War is not the greatest evil, though it is an evil. The open struggle of the battlefield is not the greatest evil; worse is that chronic condition of society which makes possible the violence of the stronger to the weaker; worse than war are insincerity and falsehood; worse is that egotism hidden under the mask of humanity and nobility in mind; worse is cowardice passing itself off as fortitude; worse is sophistry deceiving the sensible and wise. Death is not worse than a dishonourable life which destroys its own soul as well as that of its neighbour. —Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, "A Philosophy of Pacifism: A Review of Bertrand Russell's Principles of Social Reconstruction," The New Europe 2 (24): 342–350 (1917). It's hard to read Masaryk's words today and not think about Vladimir Putin, a man who singlehandedly is destroying the lives of millions across the heart of Europe.

[Scott Horton]

[quotelr]

So, I am free. Fine.

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk

[exploring-the-past]

Portrait of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. Relief halftone.

[hyenisko]

Zajímá mě, jakou odpověď má na tohle čumblr

[scarecloud69]

Otec vlasti (Karel IV.)

Otec národa (František Palacký)

Tatíček národa (Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk)

Daddy národa (Petr Pavel)

...

Fatherless behavior.

[karel-iv]

drahé veličenstvo, v dětství jsem jako povinnou četbu četla Vaše Vita Caroli a velice mě zaujal výčet jednoho Vašeho snu, který se Vám zdál někdy v mládí při bojích v dnešní Itálii nebo možná Francii. pamatuji-li se dobře, v onom prorockém a velmi podrobně popsaném snu jakémusi šlechtici usekl anděl páně ohnivým mečem úd jako trest za smilství. následně šlechtic ve skutečnosti zemřel na poranění přirození. teď mému dotazu: co vás vedlo k tomu sdílet s budoucími pokoleními právě tento sen? a dal byste nám na čumblru nahlédnout ještě dál do svého snového deníčku?

Ách, ten sen Guiguesovi VIII.

Možná jsem si to v té době nemyslel, ovšem v dnešních časech na tuto událost vzpomínám jako na velice humornou. A zda-li někdy napíši Vita Caroli II: Iterum ac melius, mohu garantovat že se o ní zmíním znovu.

Co se týče dalších zajímavých snů, je zde jeden krátký, ale velice zvláštní o kterém bych se chtěl zmínit:

Bylo okolo mne totální temno a nemohl jsem se vůbec pohybovat. Náhle jsem slyšel nějakou osobu. Povídala o mně a mém životě.

Také mě párkrát přirovnala k jakémusi "Tomáši Masarykovi". Po každém přirovnání se ozvalo několik dalších hlasů a i přesto že jsem nerozuměl tomu, co ty hlasy povídaly, dalo se poznat že s prvním hlasem souhlasily. Za nedlouho jsem se probudil, plně zmaten.

Do tohoto dne netuším kdo tento "Tomáš Masaryk" je. Byl to vskutku zvláštní sen

[jan-kollar]

Miluji tě Českoslovanská jednota, miluji tě Dětvan, miluji tě Moravská beseda, miluji tě časopis Hlas, miluji tě Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk František Ladislav Rieger, Karol Salva, Milan Hodža et cetera et cetera-

A ze všeho nejvíce milují doktorku Nadeždu Jurčišinovou, vážně, přečtěte si něco od ní.

[greenishness]

Tomáš Masaryk

[nikoldragonne12]

Answering questions about Czechia (part 2)

Alright, the second post about Czechia is here. Let's get to it right away.

So, the second question, this time that one from a private chat, again from @ropeydopeyiwillchokethee (thanks for the question) was:

Q.N.2. Besides the standard stuff one should learn before going to a new country, is there anything that foreigners should really try to learn that is less obvious?

Again, like last time, a small warning that I will be using our czech names of the cities/towns/villages + the actual way we write the names and titles, so be ready for it. But I will also give you translations where I'll find it (and if it possible to translate):

And another warning: this post will be longer...

Language: 

Your main focus should be on the Czech language and learning it. Not only is it our ONLY OFFICIAL LANGUAGE (unlike some countries that have two or more), be prepared that most Czechs don’t actually speak English. I saw so many foreigners being confused why people don’t understand what they want when they start speaking English. 

This especially applies to people over the age of 40 (and it’s even worse when they’re over the age of 60) but in their case, you can try German. 

About us, people in our 20s and 30s, we mostly know English, it’s the first foreign language we learn since the age of 6 or 7 in elementary/primary school and we even have it as a compulsory subject at the final exams/graduation at high schools/secondary schools and grammar schools. However, there are also some who don’t speak English well - these people either didn’t pay attention at school or they are naturally not good at learning foreign languages (I’m not saying they’re stupid).

Probably the most tricky are types of Czech language: we have a standard formal variation, informal variation and of course, there are regional slangs that even native speakers from different parts of the country don’t understand (and if they do, it’s with difficulties).

Areas in Moravia region are a great example - several of them are known for their unique slang.

Currency:

The second thing I’d focus on is our currency: I don’t know how known it is among other countries but despite being in the European Union, we’re one of the countries that don't use Euros - instead, we have our currency called "Koruny" ("Koruna" in singular). It means "crowns" (“crown” in singular) and you can actually notice a small crown at the smallest of the coins, 1 Crown.

We used to have even smaller coins but we no longer use these, except for prizing in the shops but it’s simply for the products looking “better-prized” - it actually has no big purpose. Just look at it and if it’s 0 - 4, the prize is the same as the first number (before comma), when it’s 5 - 9, it’s 1 Crown more expensive than the number before the comma. So basically if something is marked 10,90, it costs 11 Crowns.

1 Euro is about 25 Crowns and 1 US Dollar is about 23 Crowns.

By the way, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 crowns are coins (although 20 and 50 Crowns used to be papers), while 100, 200, 500, 1.000, 2.000 and 5.000 are paper currency. And each of it is decorated:

1 Crown - crown

2 Crowns - “gombík” (an ancestor of a button from the era of Great Moravia; 9th and 10th century)

5 Crowns - Charles’ Bridge

10 Crowns - Prague Castle

20 Crowns - St. Wenceslas, patron of Czechia

50 Crowns - Prague’s monuments (more of them)

100 Crowns - Charles IV., one of the medieval kings of our land

200 Crowns - Jan Amos Komenský/Iohannes Amos Comenius/Johann Amos Comenius, Czech philosopher, pedagogue and theologian

500 Crowns - Božena Němcová, Czech writer and story collector

1.000 Crowns - František Palacký, Czech writer and historian

2.000 Crowns - Ema Destinnová, Czech opera singer

5.000 Crowns - Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first president when we became Czechoslovakia in 1918 (to that year we weren’t our own country)

Note: We’re no longer Czechoslovakia, since 1st January 1993, we are the Czech Republic, a.k.a. Czechia, and Slovak Republic, a.k.a. Slovakia. We are TWO SEPARATE COUNTRIES THAT ARE SIMILAR YET VERY DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER.

On the other side of the coins (at the avers) is the Czech two-tailed lion with a crown (one of the heraldic figures from our coat of arms), “ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA” (the Czech Republic) + the year when the coin was made.

By the way, there's a rare chance you’ll get a 10 or 20 Crowns coin that will look like it has some kind of clockwork on it - do not panic, these coins are also valid. These are called “orlojové mince”. For context, “Staroměstský orloj/Pražský orloj”, known as the Prague astronomical clock in English, is depicted on these coins and this design is pretty unique. You can use it for paying or keep it as a souvenir if you get one.

I mention the currency here because except for large cities, you would have a hard time trying to use Euros - especially in small towns and villages, we use our currency only, so it’s better to have our money with you. 

How far it is? + time:

When we describe how far something is, we use meters, kilometers, etc., unlike UKs who use yards or USs who use time. And about hours, we're among the countries who use 24 hours, meaning 0:00 is 12am, 12:00 is 12pm, 15:00 is 3pm etc.

I’m not sure how many readers come from the countries I mentioned, so I’m including THIS here… just in case.

Poppies:

Now, something that might be controversial and actually it sometimes puzzle foreigners: I already noticed in one internet series with foreign people trying our food that they’re assuming dr*gs are legal in Czechia because we, without any problems, sell pastry or other dishes that contain poppy seeds. They occasionally even get scared, thinking that not only do we want to get them in trouble, but to poison them. 

First, I have to make clear that dr*gs are ILLEGAL in Czechia and even if there are people using these, they get in trouble with the law when they get caught. Depending on what you'll have and the amount, you may get a fine, you can get in prison, etc. 

But overall, dr*gs are ILLEGAL here. Don't use it.

The real reason why we use poppy seeds in our pastry is because we use a specific subspecies, also known as Czech Blue Poppy (czech “Český modrý mák”): the difference between this one and regular poppies is that ours has a very, very, very low amount of alkaloids, which means it’s harmless and you're safe to eat it without any problems. 

And from a nutritious perspective, Czech poppy is actually good for your health: it contains minerals, vitamin E, etc.

Plus, most of the dishes with it are pretty good. These two examples show two types of sweet pastry with poppy seeds:

On the left is something we call "koláče" ("koláč" in singular). I didn't find the right English translation (it probably doesn't exist), so I'll put a German word here (I speak German a little) - "die Kolatsche".

On the right is a type of rolls: these specifically have more sugar in their dough, so they're sweet, but you can find the salty ones much more often. The classic salty rolls are usually straight, unlike these.

But if you don’t want to eat it, you can at least appreciate the flower itself:

These photos shows the most common variation.

[enlitment]

Historical ask game!!! 7, 16, 29?

Thanks for the asks!

7. Historical dressing, uniform or costume?

Already talked about my enthusiasm for togas here!

But to expand on that and combine my two historical obsessions, I'd like to give a honorary shout-out to the Empire style. It brings together the aesthetics of the classical style of the antiquity with the late 1700s/early 1800s vibes. It also influenced the clothing in Regency Era England, which is another of my favourite periods.

I'm also big on minimalism, so I much prefer the relatively simple white dress to the much more elaborate baroque costumes. Unfortunately, I think the high waist look would look really unflattering on me given my body type.

16. Do you own some historical item? ( coin, clothing, weapons, books, ect) If yes which one is your favourite?

I don't, unfortunately! My grandmother claims to have a piece of the Berlin Wall somewhere in her house though (taken in 1989, not the ones they sell you in the many Berlin's gift shops). That said, we unfortunately cannot find it.

29. Great historical mystery you are interested in?

All of the greats I guess? Like who was Jack the Ripper, where is Alexander the Great's tomb, what happened to the Roanoke Colony etc.

To throw in there something more niche, there is a conspiracy theory that the first president of Czechoslovakia, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk may have been an illegitimate son of some higher-up Austrian aristocrat, possibly even the emperor himself.

Though it is a wild claim - especially the last one - there may be something to it. His mum (located in Vienna at key times, mind you!) was a cook and his father a coachman, yet he always seemed to receive help from someone higher-up in his youth, enabling him to pursue higher education and become a university professor.

They even wanted to check this hypothesis by testing his DNA against that of Franz Joseph's, but his relatives ordered to stop the process. I don't really think that it's possible that the first president of our independent republic was an illegitimate son of the Austrian emperor, but it would have been wild if it were the case.

[gregor-samsung]

" La saggia decisione presa da Thomas Masaryk* quando non era ancora presidente della Cecoslovacchia, ma capo del governo provvisorio, rivela quanto sia importante tenere conto dell’opinione pubblica mondiale allorché si prepara un evento di grande rilievo. Infatti la Cecoslovacchia ha acquisito ufficialmente lo statuto di stato indipendente lunedì 28 ottobre 1918 e non domenica 27, in quanto il professor Masaryk aveva compreso che all’inizio della settimana il mondo sarebbe stato più recettivo alla proclamazione della libertà del suo paese, per la semplice ragione che i quotidiani del lunedì avrebbero dato uno spazio maggiore alla notizia.

Durante la conversazione che abbiamo avuto a questo proposito, prima che annunciasse la sua decisione, il professor Masaryk mi ha detto: “Se cambio la data di nascita della Cecoslovacchia come nazione indipendente, farò la storia in funzione del cablogramma”. Il cablogramma fa la storia e la data fu quindi modificata. Questo aneddoto illustra bene l’importanza che ha assunto la tecnica nella nuova propaganda, alcuni certamente ribatteranno che finirà per provocare la sua stessa perdita nella misura in cui il pubblico ne capirà sempre meglio i meccanismi. Io non sono d’accordo. "

*Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850-1937) statista, sociologo e filosofo cecoslovacco, famoso per essere stato il fondatore e primo presidente della Cecoslovacchia. Fondò anche l’Università di Brno, che in seguito fu rinominata Masarykova univerzita in suo onore.

---------

Edward Louis Bernays, Propaganda. Della manipolazione dell’opinione pubblica in democrazia, traduzione di Augusto Zuliani, Fausto Lupetti Editore, 2008.

[Edizione originale: Propaganda, New York: Horace Liveright publisher, 1928]

[viviendopraga]

Si vas de viaje a Praga a finales de octubre puedes disfrutar en diversos eventos para la Celebración del 28 de octubre en la República Checa. El 28 de octubre es uno de los días festivos nacionales checos más importantes. Este día se conmemora el establecimiento del Estado checoslovaco independiente, el 28 de octubre de 1918. Cuando los representantes del Comité Nacional Checoslovaco proclamaron Checoslovaquia. 28 de octubre de 1918: contexto histórico Ese día, los llamados Hombres del 28 de Octubre: Antonín Švehla, Alois Rašín, Václav Klofáč, Jiří Stříbrný, Vavro Šrobár, František Soukup, publicaron una proclama y promulgaron la primera ley por la que se creaba un Estado checoslovaco independiente. Su creación fue precedida por un esfuerzo nacional a largo plazo para liberarse del dominio de Austria-Hungría. En ella también participó el posterior presidente Edvard Beneš, que entonces era un destacado representante de la resistencia extranjera antiaustriaca. El 28 de octubre de 1918 checos y eslovacos se unieron para el nacimiento de una república autónoma, que más tarde fue reconocida por la propia Austria-Hungría. Ese día, multitudes de personas salieron a las calles para destruir los símbolos del antiguo imperio. El sacerdote católico checo y diplomático Isidor Zahradník se dirigió a la gente en la plaza Wenceslao. Durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial no se permitió celebrar el 28 de octubre. Ya en el primer año de la ocupación, ese día se produjeron protestas y manifestaciones a gran escala. En uno de ellos fue asesinado el estudiante Jan Opletal. Su muerte provocó nuevas protestas, por lo que los nazis cerraron las universidades checas el 17 de noviembre de 1939. Checoslovaquia existió en diversas formas, con una pausa de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, durante 68 años,hasta finales de 1992. El 1 de enero de 1993 nacieron nos nuevas repúblicas, la checa y la eslovaca. Eventos para la Celebración del 28 de octubre en la República Checa El 28 de octubre se celebrarán en toda la República Checa diversos actos conmemorativos. Pero estos son algunos de los que se realizaran en Praga: Un desfile militar con minuto de silencio y ofrenda floral ante la Tumba del Soldado Desconocido en Vítkov. El Juramento ceremonial de los miembros del ejército de la República Checa en Hradčanské náměstí, Nombramiento de los oficiales de las fuerzas de seguridad con el rango de general, por parte del presidente. El presidente otorgará honores estatales a personalidades seleccionadas: Orden del León Blanco, Orden de Tomáš Garrigu Masaryk, Medalla al Heroísmo y Medalla al Mérito. Durante este día festivo también se pueden visitar algunos lugares que normalmente están cerrados al público. Como el Senado, la Oficina del Gobierno de la República Checa o algunos ministerios.

[europeposts]

Prague

Capital of the Czech Republic

Prague, capital city of the Czech Republic, is bisected by the Vltava River. Nicknamed “the City of a Hundred Spires,” it's known for its Old Town Square, the heart of its historic core, with colorful baroque buildings, Gothic churches and the medieval Astronomical Clock, which gives an animated hourly show. Completed in 1402, pedestrian Charles Bridge is lined with statues of Catholic saints. 

Prague, panoramic view from Charles Bridge east tower

National Theatre Prague

Skyscrapers in Prague in 2018 – from left: City Empiria, Corinthia Hotel, Panorama Hotel, City Tower and V Tower.

Old Town Square, Prague

A view of the Mostecká viewed towards Malostranské Náměstí with the Church of Saint Nicolas in the background in Malá Strana, Prague just after sunrise.

The current St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague was founded in 1344.

The Prague astronomical clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working.

Monument to František Palacký, a significant member of the Czech National Revival

Statue of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk near Prague Castle

Velvet Revolution in November 1989

Historic Centre of Prague and Průhonice Park

Na příkopě, the most expensive street among the states of V4

Tourism is a significant part of the city's economy.

Wenceslas Square

Milunić's and Gehry's Dancing House

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate oceanic climate, with relatively warm summers and chilly winters.

Prague - Wikipedia

Prague, Czech Republic (by Michael Breitung)

[missionreconnect]

Mini workshopy k bezpečnějšímu chování (nejen) na internetu

V úterý 9.4. 2024 jsme pořádaly 2 mini workshopy na SŠGS Šířava v Přerově. Účastníci měli možnost dozvědět se, jak zdánlivě pravdivé zakořeněné představy a obrazy mohou být naprosto mylné a jak je důležité používat kritické myšlení. 

Na příkladu vikingských helem s rohy, jsme si ukázali, že se nezakládají na historických faktech a že ne všechny odkazy na internetu jsou věrohodné. Je proto velmi důležité čerpat z více zdrojů a nenechat se oklamat. Povídali jsme si i o cookies, jejichž drobečky vypovídají hodně o tom, kdo je nadrobil a málokdy jsou pořádně uklizeny. Důležitost kritického myšlení nám připomněl tatíček Masaryk s radou, ať nevěříme každé fotce na internetu. TGM nás svoji progresivní radou možná zaskočil (nakonec jsme ho kritickým myšlením odhalili!), ale fotomontáž selfie pilota se nám hned moc nezdála. Naopak s rozzuřeným medvědem jsme byli více na vážkách, ve zprávách se to přece medvědy jen hemží! 

Na závěr workshopu, v návaznosti na předchozí informace o fotografiích, byly představeny tipy pro focení, například pravidlo třetin, role pozadí nebo jak může obraz záměrně pracovat s emocemi.

Workshop vedla Marta Podniece z Lotyšska, s pomocí M. Albrechtové, obě z organizace Mission: Reconnect, z.s. v rámci projektu Chytré telefony jako nástroj učení a vytváření nových kompetencí programu Erasmus+.

...

Mini Workshops Promoting Safer Behaviour (not only) on the Internet

On April 4, Mission: Reconnect held 2 mini workshops at the Secondary School of Gastronomy and Services in Přerov, Czechia. The participants got the opportunity to see how seemingly enrooted perceptions and images can be totally wrong and high importancy of critical thinking. 

The helmets of the Vikings were set as an example of a misleading picture which is not based on historical facts. Also, not every piece of information found on the Internet is based on the truth. Hence, using more sources and avoid being mislead or fooled is of the utmost importantance. We discussed cookies too, which small crumbs tell a lot about the eater and they are rarely cleaned up. 

The crucial role of critical thinking was reminded by first Czechoslovakian President, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (TGM) advising us not to believe every photo on the Internet. Although TGM might have caught us by surprise (finally we revealed the truth using critical thinking), a selfie of a pilot was somewhat suspicious from the very beginning. On the other hand, we were in two minds about the picture with an angry bear. There have been so many bears in the news recently!

The last part of the workshop interconnected the information about photos and useful tips for taking pictures were presented, e.g. the rule of thirds, background and its role, or how a picture can intentionally influence someone's emotions.

The workshop was led by Marta Podniece and assisted by Michaela Albrechtová, both from Mission: Reconnect, z.s. as a part of the  Erasmus+ project ‘Smartphones as Tool for Competency Development of Youth’.