Doklady fotografické činnosti Františka Řehoře ve sbírkách Národního muzea

This text examines the photography collection of František Řehoř, created in the last quarter of the 19th century. The archives consisting of photographs and negatives are just one of the many components of the extensive research and collection activities carried out by the researcher. The collection constitutes a valuable insight into the everyday life of the inhabitants of rural settlements in eastern Galicia. The informative value of the collection is greatly enhanced by the detailed descriptions with which the author has accompanied his photographs.

Zachránce z české obce Kupičov na Volyni – k životním osudům evangelického duchovního Jana Jelínka

The purpose of this text is to map out the vicissitudes in the life of the Evangelical clergyman Jan Jelínek on the basis of the sources available, in a bid to foster awareness of this prominent personage in the public realm and preserve his memory for future generations. Jan Jelínek was born in 1912 in Zelov (present-day Poland) to Czech exiles. Initially he worked as an accountant in the Jan Sláma company in Zelov, later graduating from the Missionary School in Olomouc and becoming a preacher. In the years 1937 – 1944 he served as preacher in the Czech village of Kupičov in Volhynia. During World War II he helped the persecuted, hiding Jews from the Germans, and Ukrainians and Poles from Bandera’s followers. In 1944 he and his wife joined the First Czechoslovak Army Corps in the USSR. In January 1958 he was arrested by the StB (the secret police of the Communist Czechoslovak state), and following three months of detention on remand, was sentenced to two years in prison for sedition and opposition to the establishment of the JZD (a network of Czech collective farms). He was released in 1960. Until his retirement in 1972, he worked as a labourer in the Paints and Varnishes company. Jan Jelínek died in Prague in 2009. On 28 October 2019 president Miloš Zeman posthumously decorated him with the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Class I.

Svět prken, která znamenají svět. O projektu Divadelního oddělení Národního muzea – Dokumentace současných divadelních budov

This paper presents an extensive research project carried out by the Theatre Department at the National Museum. This document, the Catalogue of Contemporary Theatre Buildings, maps out in detail the sites where theatre is performed in the Czech Republic today. It focuses not only on professional venues, but also registers other, often unconventional, places where theatre thrives, such as churches, public spaces, cultural centres, private apartments, gymnasia, cinemas, shopping centres, etc. In the first section, the outline of the project is presented, starting from the initial idea through to the people involved and technical support for its implementation, to a description of how the obtained material was processed into a comprehensive and clear archival collection. In the second part, the study focuses on some valuable findings on contemporary theatre in the Czech Republic, obtained by the author during the cataloguing process. Using photographs, textual materials, video footage and interviews with employees of the documented institutions, the project aims to find answers to general questions of a social nature: How does neatness or untidiness indicate a citizen‘s relationship to the place in which they live? How do people understand the terms ‘community centre’ and ‘public service’?

Sokolské jednoty Čechů z Volyně

The fundamental purpose of this article is to contribute towards mapping out the hitherto largely neglected development and significance of one of the most important aspects of the community life of emigrants from the Czech Lands settled in the area of Volyně – known as the Volyně Czechs. The article deals with their Sokol Physical Education Associations, from their initial foundation in the 1870s to the activities of the Czechs of Volyně in the aftermath of World War II subsequent to their re-emigration to Czechoslovakia. Particular attention is devoted to the inter-war period, during which the Associations achieved their greatest expansion in Volyně. They helped not only to develop physical fitness but also towards the upbringing of the youth, strengthening their Czech consciousness and sense of belonging to their historical homeland. Despite the fact that their activities would later become complicated and indeed rendered impossible by the Polish and Soviet authorities, the Sokol Associations left an important mark – still remembered in various places within the region, and to which present-day associations hark back.

Sbírkotvorná a výzkumná činnost jako forma komunikace muzea s veřejností (na příkladu vývoje pravěkého oddělení Národního muzea)

Based on the example of the Prehistory Department of the National Museum, the present paper examines two of the ways in which the Museum has communicated with the public from the time of its foundation to, basically, the present: through the activities of collecting and researching. In the case of collecting activities, the text outlines how the proportion of donations and purchases along with the Museum’s discoveries evolved depending on social, political and, for example, legal circumstances. In the case of research activities, it illustrates the significance of the overall context regarding the development of archeology and its institutional protection. An irreplaceable role in the whole process was, however, played by important personalities of the Museum’s Archeology Department, such as J. L. Píč and J. Neustupný.

K počiatkom Archívu Slovenského národného múzea. Príspevok k životu a dielu Márie Jeršovej Opočenskej

The cultural heritage of the nation is protected by memory institutions, which consist, largely, of museums. One of the largest cultural institutions in Slovakia is the Slovak National Museum. Its archive has become a permanent source of information both on the institutional development of this longest continuously operating national cultural institution and the development of museum management in Slovakia. The article provides a brief overview of accessible archival sources on the history of the Slovak National Museum and, moreover, recalls the merits of some important personalities from the Czech Republic working in the field of preservation for Slovakia’s cultural heritage.

Nástroj posilňovania národného ducha? Podoby múzeí na Slovensku v období existencie slovenského štátu

The aim of the paper is to describe the potential role of museums in spreading state ideology and propaganda. It furthermore attempts to answer the question of whether objects in Slovak museums could serve to strengthen love and devotion towards the State and nation, as well as encourage national awareness. The paper also focuses on exploring the extent to which the documentation of the present has been undertaken in the largest Slovak museums in Bratislava and Turčiansky Svätý Martin. Research was conducted in the Archives and in incremental books of these museums.

Národní muzeum pohledem Československé televize ve druhé polovině 20. století

Based on historiographical procedures and methods used in the field of media science, a research was conducted, through quantitative and qualitative analysis, on unique historical sources in the form of television programs which provided information on the National Museum. In the selected period, which is delimited by the year 1953, when television broadcasting began in Czechoslovakia and the year 1993, an analysis of these media was undertaken focusing on their use as historical sources. In the period under review, a genre diversity was detected, which offered news service, opinion journalism, educational programs and entertainment. Through historical sources, valuable in today’s perspective, these programs formed the media image of the National Museum as an institution with a rich past closely linked to national history and as an irreplaceable scientific platform.

Výstavní politika oddělení novodobých českých dějin v letech 1973–1989

The National Museum started increasingly to engage in exhibitions devoted to twentieth-century history, subsequent to the foundation of the Department of modern Czech history. Until then, it had left this subject area to the Party museums in Prague. Individual exhibitions were particularly devoted to anniversaries marking the emergence of KSČ (the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia), the Slovak national uprising, the end of the War, the year 1948 and building socialism. They varied in standard, and were based on ideas from the document “Lessons from the evolution of the crisis in the party and society after the 13th KSČ congress of 1970” and on the associated museological methodologies. However, at the same time they were conceived in a manner that reflected the acquisition conception of the Department, and sought to present political as well as cultural, economic and social topics. They also endeavoured to portray everyday life. All these exhibitions may thus be considered a preparatory stage that culminated in the permanent exhibition on the history of the twentieth century.