Events: December 2018 November 2018 January 2019
When the War Comes: Why do Czech Nationalists Love Russia?
December 3, 2018, 19:00
Screening of the documentary When the War Comes by Jan Gebert (CR, Croatia, 76 min., 2018) followed by a debate involving journalist Josef Pazderka, and journalist Ivana Svobodová (Respekt weekly), who will moderate the evening. More
Ilona Ferková: Same Again, Lída!
December 4, 2018, 19:00
KHER, a publishing house focused on Roma literature, will present the long-anticipated new novel by Ilona Ferková entitled De Mek Jekh, Lido! (Same Again, Lída!). It’s about the eternally luckless Kaštánek, who lives on the streets and tells the Romany regulars stories in exchange for beer at the gaming bar on the square. A tough life can be lit up by stories and even homeless people and gambling addicts have their pride. More
Doctors of Humanity: American Assistance to Czechoslovakia After World War One
December 5, 2018, 13:30
In connection with the centenary of Czechoslovakia and the establishment of modernday Czech-American relations, it is worth remembering the humanitarian and development aid the US provided to the newly established Czechoslovak state in its first years of existence. More
Republic Café: Lost and Found Post-1918: The Church
December 10, 2018, 19:00
The foundation of the Czechoslovak Republic a century ago was accompanied not only by patriotic fervour but also concerns about the future. Minorities, the Catholic Church, the aristocracy and many others were faced with decisions regarding to how to proceed. In the uncertainty with which they were treated by the fresh republic they themselves also had to consider how to respond to the new state. More
One Hundred Years Later: The Testimony of a Rediscovered Diary
December 11, 2018, 17:00
Nine-thousand and 88 kilometres. That’s the length of the world’s longest railway, the Trans-Siberian Mainline. At the close of WWI Czechoslovak legionnaires took control of this legendary railroad. Exactly a century later, Ina Píšová, the granddaughter of one of them – Jan Kouba – set off in his footsteps, his diary in hand. More
Debate with Respekt
December 11, 2018, 19:00
Discussion with Respekt editors and their guests on a topical issue. For more information go to www.vaclavhavel.cz
Jiří Černý: In the Šafrán Era
December 12, 2018, 19:00
Jiří Černý’s playback session will be dedicated to the phenomenon of the singer-songwriters association Šafrán (1972–1978). Černý, a music journalist, was there when Czech urban folk song writing was born at the end of the 1960s, appearing on stage with Šafrán members and working with them over many years. The evening will focus on his view of the key names in Czech folk and their work. More
The Story of Neratov: From Ruined Church to Brewery
December 13, 2018, 17:00
An evacuated, literally depopulated village, a church in ruins with trees growing in it. So begins the story of Neratov as it was first experienced by Josef Suchár, a secretly ordained priest, in his youth. He reached out to two families, who settled permanently in the Orlické Mountains. With other friends they founded a civic association, surrounded themselves with the needy and disabled – and built a new village. The story of a vision fulfilled and today the biggest employer of disabled people in the region. More
David Vaughan: Hear My Voice
December 13, 2018, 20:00
Fake news and the Munich Crisis More
Šafrán in Folk’s Glorious Days
December 17, 2018, 19:00
Pre-Christmas get-together of Šafrán singer-songwriters (Vladimír Merta, Jaroslav Hutka, Petr Lutka, Dagmar Voňková, Vladimír Veit, Oskar Petr, etc.), who will look back at their beginnings 50 years ago and the greatest era of Czechoslovak folk, as well as playing songs and perhaps fielding questions from the audience. More
Ladislav Heryán: At the Mills of God
December 18, 2018, 19:00
Presentation of the book-length interview U Božího Mlýna (At the Mills of God). More