Communist Czechoslovakia in Works of Jorge Amado and Zélia Gattai

During the Cold War a number of intellectuals stood up to express theirsupport for one of the rival parties in the effort of defending their political beliefs. The studyanalyses the changes in attitude of a Brazilian writer, Jorge Amado, and his wife, Zélia Gattai,towards the Soviet Union and communist ideology, with a focus on their exilein Czechoslovakia between 1949?1952. While before this stay the couple could only see thelife in socialist countries during their short visits there, which were organized, moreover, bythe local governments, more than two years at Dobří chateau enabled them to experience thedark side of Stalinism. A detailed analysis of the work of both Brazilian intellectuals showsthat the couple found a lot of friends and valuable contacts in Czechoslovakia. Even theirdaughter Paloma was born there. However, at the same time, their stay in Czechoslovakiarepresents also the disillusionment and beginning of Amado´s break with the Communistparty.Ve snaze hájit svá politická přesvědčení, v období studené války množství intelektuálů vystoupilo na podporu jednoho ze znepřátelených táborů. Studie analyzuje proměny vztahu brazilského spisovatele Jorgeho Amada a jeho manželky Zélie Gattai k Sovětskému svazu a komunistické ideologii. Hlavní pozornost je věnována jejich nucenému pobytu v Československu v letech 1949–1952. Zatímco doposud měl pár možnost seznámit se s životem v socialistických zemích pouze prostřednictvím krátkých cest, které navíc byly organizovány tamními vládami, více než dva roky trvající pobyt na zámku v Dobříši jim umožnil poznat odvrácenou tvář stalinismu. Detailní rozbor děl obou brazilských intelektuálů ukazuje, že si rodina v Československu vytvořila řadu přátel a cenných kontaktů, narodila se zde mj. také dcera Paloma. Současně ale tento pobyt symbolizuje ztrátu iluzí a stojí na počátku Amadova rozchodu s komunistickou stranou.Fil: Zourek, Michal. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Instituto de Historia Argentina y Americana "Dr. Emilio Ravignani". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Historia Argentina y Americana "Dr. Emilio Ravignani"; Argentin

A política cultural da Tchecoslováquia na América Latina durante a Guerra Fria: o caso do Uruguai

Este artículo analiza las políticas culturales de Checoslovaquia en Uruguay durante la guerra fría, a través de documentos obtenidos en archivos checos y literatura del período. El énfasis está en la interpretación dentro de un contexto más amplio de diplomacia checoslovaca en América Latina. En relación a las limitadas posibilidades de diplomacia comunista clásica en la región, se utilizó el prestigio de la cultura checa para conducir y promover los intereses políticos y económicos del país. Música clásica y cine, que tradicionalmente tenían éxito en festivales, lograron entonces una gran popularidad en Uruguay. Cuando se analiza la incorporación de la cultura checa en uruguay se pueden identificar seis grandes etapas. El período de mayor intensidad en la cooperación cultural entre los dos países se inició con la Revolución Cubana de 1959 y se prolongó por ocho años. El golpe de estado de 1973 inauguró un nuevo periodo en las relaciones y por los siguientes doce años las oportunidades de promover la cultura de Checoslovaquia se desvanecieron. Este análisis de las políticas culturales de Checoslovaquia en Uruguay contribuirán a entender aspectos pocos examinados hasta ahora en relación con las políticas culturales del Bloque del Este en América Latina durante la guerra fría.This article analyzes Czechoslovakian cultural politics in Uruguay during the Cold War through documents found in Czech archives and literature from the period. Emphasis is placed on interpretation within the wider context of Czechoslovakian diplomacy in Latin America. Considering the limited possibilities communist Czechoslovakia had to engage in classical diplomacy within the region, it leveraged its cultural prestige to conduct and promote the political and economic interests of the country. Classical music and cinema, which traditionally experienced success in festivals, achieved great popularity.Este artigo analisa as políticas culturais da Tchecoslováquia no Uruguai durante a Guerra Fria, através de documentos obtidos em arquivos tchecos e na literatura do período. A ênfase está na interpretacão dentro de um contexto mais amplo da diplomacia tchecoslovaca na América Latina. En relação às limitadas possibilidades de diplomacia comunista clássica na regão, se usou o prestígio da cultura tcheca para conduzir e promover os interesses políticos e econômicos do país. A música clássica e o cinema, que tradicionalmente tinham êxito em festivais, conseguiram então uma grande popularidade no Uruguai. Quando se analisa a incorporacão da cultura tcheca no Uruguai pode-se identificar seis grandes etapas. O período de maior intensidade na cooperacão cultural entre os dois países começou com a Revolução Cubana de 1959 e se prolongou durante oito anos. O golpe de estado de 1973 inaugurou um novo período nas relações e durante os seguintes doze anos as oportunidades de promover a cultura da Tchecoslováquia se desvaneceram. Esta análise das políticas culturais da Tchecoslováquia no Uruguai contribuirá a entender aspectos poucos examinados até agora na relação com as políticas culturais do Bloque do Leste na América Latina durante a Guerra Fria.Fil: Zourek, Michal. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Instituto de Historia Argentina y Americana "Dr. Emilio Ravignani". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Historia Argentina y Americana "Dr. Emilio Ravignani"; Argentin

Artkino Pictures Argentina: a Window to the Communist Europe in Buenos Aires Screens (1954-1970)

The aim of this paper is to study a specific aspect of the Communist foreign propaganda policy in Latin America: its cThe aim of this paper is to study a specific aspect of the Communist foreign propaganda policy in Latin America: its cultural influence through the export of films. Renewed after Stalin´s death, Soviet cultural propaganda concentrated on gaining the favour of foreign public. Particularly in Argentina, several propaganda techniques were implemented. Although the export of films was just one of them, it soon became very successful thanks to the collaboration of a local cultural mediator, the film distribution company Artkino Pictures, as well as its owner and founder, Argentino Vainikoff. His expertise in the field actually gained him a new business deal with Czechoslovak filmography, which somewhat contested USSR imagery. In all, here –with the aid of oral history as well as contemporary press analysis– we argue that Artkino´s role in the import of an idealised imaginary of Communism was crucial and had a particularly strong impact on middle-class citizens of the cultural and artistic regional centre that Buenos Aires was in the 1950s and 1960s, and from where all Latin America, as the Soviets soon acknowledged, could be reached.ultural influence through the export of films. Renewed after Stalin´s death, Soviet cultural propaganda concentrated on gaining the favour of foreign public. Particularly in Argentina, several propaganda techniques were implemented. Although the export of films was just one of them, it soon became very successful thanks to the collaboration of a local cultural mediator, the film distribution company Artkino Pictures, as well as its owner and founder, Argentino Vainikoff. His expertise in the field actually gained him a new business deal with Czechoslovak filmography, which somewhat contested USSR imagery. In all, here –with the aid of oral history as well as contemporary press analysis– we argue that Artkino´s role in the import of an idealised imaginary of Communism was crucial and had a particularly strong impact on middle-class citizens of the cultural and artistic regional centre that Buenos Aires was in the 1950s and 1960s, and from where all Latin America, as the Soviets soon acknowledged, could be reached.Fil: Galván, Maria Valeria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Instituto de Historia Argentina y Americana ; ArgentinaFil: Zourek, Michal. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Instituto de Historia Argentina y Americana ; Argentina. Institute of Technology and Business in České Budějovice; República Chec

The Cultural Policy of Czechoslovakia towards Uruguay in 1950s and 1960s

El artículo analiza, a través de los documentos archivísticos y la literatura, la política cultural de Checoslovaquia hacia Uruguay durante las dos primeras décadas de la Guerra Fría, es decir, en los anos cincuenta y sesenta del siglo XX. Con respecto a las posibilidades limitadas de la diplomacia clásica de la Checoslovaquia comunista en la región, el buen nombre de la cultura checoslovaca ayudó a promover los intereses políticos y económicos. Especialmente la música clásica (Janáček, Dvořák, Smetana) y el cine, tradicionalmente exitoso en los festivales internacionales (Jiří Trnka), alcanzaron una gran popularidad. La década de los 60 se puede considerar como la época de la cooperación cultural más intensa entre los dos países que a la vez representa uno de los casos más exitosos de la política cultural de Checoslovaquia en América Latina. Después del golpe de Estado en 1973, las posibilidades de la promoción cultural de Checoslovaquia en Uruguay eran mínimas.This article analyzes the cultural politics of Czechoslovakia against Uruguay during the first two decades of the Cold War through documents from Czech archives and literature from that period. With regard to the limited possibilities of classical diplomacy of communist Czechoslovakia in the region, it was the Czechoslovak culture that was conducive to promote political and economic interests of the country. Especially Czechoslovak classical music (Janáček, Dvořák, Smetana) and also cinematography, which was traditionally successful at internationals film festivals (JiříTrnka), achieved great popularity. The 1960s can be identified as the period of the most intense cultural cooperation between the two countries and in the same time it was one of the best examples of the cultural policy of Czechoslovakia in Latin America. After the coup in 1973, the possibilities for cultural promotion of Czechoslovakia in Uruguay were minimal.Fil: Zourek, Michal. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Instituto de Historia Argentina y Americana ; Argentina. Instituto Tecnológico y de Negocios; República Chec

Relations between Czechoslovakia and Uruguay during the 20th century

This article analyses the political and economic relations between Czechoslovakia and Uruguay during the 20th century. The main objective is to interpret unpublished Czech and foreign archives. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1921 and have never been suspended. The interwar period was marked by efforts to intensify and legally bolster trade between the two nations. During the Second World War, Uruguay actively spoke out in favour of occupied Czechoslovakia. This friendly attitude was often mentioned by Prague in subsequent years. During the Cold War, the foreign policy of Czechoslovakia was relatively coherent. In contrast, the foreign political orientation of Uruguay was characterized by discontinuity. Uruguay and also other countries of Latin America would generally prefer business contacts to diplomatic ones. The business exchange was therefore the main factor which was influencing the level and character of the mutual relations. An intensive exchange between both states was going on even in the period of the military anti-Communist regime in Uruguay (1973-1985). The end of the Cold War and the change in foreign policy orientation of Czechoslovakia (from 1993, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) resulted in a decline in interest in contacts not only with Uruguay, but also the entire region of Latin America.   Fil: Zourek, Michal. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Instituto de Historia Argentina y Americana "Dr. Emilio Ravignani". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Historia Argentina y Americana "Dr. Emilio Ravignani"; Argentin

Československo a Cono Sur 1945-1989

Disertační práce Československo a Cono Sur 1945-1989 je věnována analýze politických, ekonomických a kulturních vztahů mezi významnou zemí východního bloku a třemi státy, které se nacházejí v nejjižnější části jihoamerického subkontinentu - Argentinou, Chile a Uruguayí - v období studené války. Hlavním cílem studie je interpretace nepublikovaných dokumentů z českých a zahraničních archivů. První kapitola se věnuje politice Československa vůči Latinské Americe ve sledovaném období. Další části pak popisují samotné vztahy Československa s jednotlivými státy Cono Sur. Texty věnované každé zemi jsou rozděleny tematicky, tj. na kontakty politické, ekonomické a kulturní. Každá z těchto částí je pak dále rozdělena na podkapitoly, jež vymezují významné mezníky vzájemné relace. Práce je zakončena rozhovorem se Stanislavem Svobodou, vysokým diplomatem komunistického Československa. Jeho postřehy umožňují interpretovat archivní dokumenty v jiném úhlu pohledu. Aniž by bylo opuštěno od snahy ukázat zahraničním badatelům hodnotu českých archivů, jejichž význam je navíc znásoben obtížnou dostupností archivů ruských, práce se pokouší o analýzu v širším kontextu mezinárodní politiky. V bipolárním světě byly možnosti každého z těchto států jednat nezávisle značně omezené. Protože se každá z oblastí nacházela během...The doctoral thesis Czechoslovakia and the Southern Cone 1945-1989 analyses political, economic and cultural relations between an important country of the Eastern Bloc and three countries of the southernmost area of South America - Argentina, Chile and Uruguay - during the Cold War. The main objective of the thesis is to interpret unpublished Czech and foreign archives. The first chapter outlines Czechoslovak policy towards Latin America in the period under consideration. The following sections describe the relations between Czechoslovakia and the individual countries of the Southern Cone. These chapters are divided according to the nature of relations into political, economic and cultural contacts. Each of these three parts is further divided into subsections which correspond to important milestones of mutual relations. The thesis ends with an interview with Stanislav Svoboda, a senior diplomat of communist Czechoslovakia. His observations shed new light on the archive documents. Without abandoning the effort of presenting foreign researchers with the value of Czech archives, whose importance is further increased by the limited accessibility of Russian archives, the paper attempts to analyse the issue in the broader context of international politics. In a bipolar world, each of these countries had...Středisko ibero-amerických studiíCentre for Ibero-American StudiesFilozofická fakultaFaculty of Art

La visión de Checoslovaquia en los testimonios latinoamericanos (1948–1968)

El texto trata los vínculos entre los intelectuales latinoamericanos y el bloque soviético durante los años 1948-1968 a través del análisis del discurso de los testimonios escritos desde Checoslovaquia. De acuerdo con las características en común, los textos se dividen en cuatro categorías. La primera categoría está compuesta por los testimonios desde el inicio de la Guerra Fría hasta mediados de los años cincuenta. Se trata de obras escritas por miembros de los partidos comunistas, marcadas por una ideología dogmática en el estilo del realismo socialista. La segunda categoría está representada por los reportajes de Gabriel García Márquez. Aunque el escritor tenía una visión crítica hacia los países comunistas, es de destacar que se refería a Checoslovaquia de una manera bastante positiva. La tercera categoría incluye los reportajes de finales de los años cincuenta y la primera mitad de los sesenta, cuyos autores pretendían informar al lector de manera más independiente. En estos textos aparece por primera vez una crítica al sistema checoslovaco. La visión crítica alcanza su máxima expresión en la obra de Roque Dalton, que representa la cuarta categoría. El poeta salvadoreño describió los valores de la sociedad checoslovaca de la segunda mitad de los años sesenta como una clara desviación hacia el capitalismo, una traición a los ideales en los que creía. El análisis del discurso de los testimonios proporciona una mirada a la cambiante percepción de la realidad checoslovaca por parte de los diversos sectores de la izquierda latinoamericana en determinadas etapas de la Guerra Fría

Soviet Policy in Latin America in the years 1917-1970: The Case of Chile

The author of this thesis analyzes the dynamics of relations between the Soviet Union and Latin America, with particular attention given to the case of Chile. The paper is focused on the time period between 1917 and 1970, years which are marked by the Russian Revolution and the commencement of Salvador Allende's term in office as the President of Chile. The main axis of the thesis is connected with the genesis of the political left, especially Communism, as an extremely strong bond between these two distant regions. In the first part of the thesis, which focuses on the time period until 1948, the author addresses the Soviet Union's penetration into Latin America and at the same time talks about the development of the Communist Party in Chile at that time. The second part of the thesis analyzes post-war development in the region of Latin American and its relations with the Soviet Union in the light of the transformation of the Soviet Doctrine. The case of Chile exemplifies the Doctrine's particular impacts. The paper also takes notice of specific international factors, which have aided (the Russian Revolution, the politics of the Popular Front) or conversely hampered (US influence, the atmosphere of the Cold War) the penetration of the Soviet Union into the political life of Latin America and Chile