Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences Collection

This collection contains lectures and papers prepared and organized by the Society of Arts and Sciences (SVU), a prominent organization in exile which brought together scientists and artists originally from Czechoslovakia. It contains unique manuscripts and publications from 1957 to 1977, including the series entitled “The Czechoslovak State Idea 1938-1948”. The authors of these papers were important representatives from the Czech and Slovak community in exile – former politicians and diplomats from before the Communist coup of 1948.

Ort:
- Archivní 2257/4, 149 00 Praha 4 - Chodovec, Czech Republic
Themen:
Gründungsdatum:
- 1958
Besondere Beispiele:
- Drábek, Jaroslav. A Contribution to the History of the Beginning of the Czechoslovak Resistance (in Czech), 1960. Manuscript

Documents of the Bethlen Gábor Foundation

The collection of the Bethlen Gábor Foundation provides insights into the concerns and the institutionalisation of the national-populist dissent groups in the 1970s and 1980s. The Gábor Bethlen Foundation was officially registered in 1985, though it was in fact active since 1980. The organisation tried to press the Hungarian government to take action in Hungary and in states neighbouring Hungary to foster what it perceived as authentic ethnic Hungarian culture. The efforts to call public attention to the cultural discrimination against Hungarians in the neighbouring socialist countries produced civic networks and initiatives, which were seen as crucial to addressing the failures of the communist government. Furthermore, these civic initiatives generated culture-based criticism of official politics, which was accused of ignoring this important issue.

Ort:
- Budapest Andrássy út 100, Hungary 1062
Themen:
- Literatur und Literaturkritik
- nationale Bewegungen (patriotische Opposition)
Gründungsdatum:
- 2015
Besondere Beispiele:
- Appeal, "Supporting the Bethlen Gábor Foundation", 1985. Archival document

Documents of the Hungarian Democratic Forum (1987-1989)

The Hungarian Democratic Forum (HDF) was the first legal oppositional movement in socialist Hungary. The document material of the HDF, based on the private collection of Sándor Lezsák, is a unique source on cultural resistance during the late Kádár period and 1989.

Ort:
- Lakitelek Felsőalpár 3, Hungary 6065
Themen:
- Literatur und Literaturkritik
- nationale Bewegungen (patriotische Opposition)
Gründungsdatum:
- 1991
Besondere Beispiele:
- The Lakitelek Declaration, 1987. Archival document

Edvard Kocbek Collection

The Edvard Kocbek Collection is located in the depot of the National and University Library in Ljubljana. It is actually his personal bequest to that same library. Kocbek was the greatest Slovenian poet and writer of the 20^th century, who, as a Christian Socialist, joined the Slovene National Liberation Front under the control of the communists during the Second World War. Due to his divergent opinions about the war and the policies of the new communist regime, immediately after the war he was placed under the surveillance of the secret police (known as the UDBA). After that, he was very soon placed under a kind of public isolation, which implied limited movement and restricted access to intellectual life.

Ort:
- Ljubljana Turjaška ulica 1, Slovenia 1000
Themen:
Besondere Beispiele:
- Kocbek, Edvard. “Fear and Courage” (radio dramatization by Ivan Buzečan), 1981. Manuscript
- Letter from Mihajlo Mihajlov to Edvard Kocbek, 7 June 1966

Elza Rudenāja and Vladislavs Urtāns collection on preservation of local cultural legacy

The Elza Rudenāja and Vladislavs Urtāns collection at the Madona Museum of Local History and Arts shows how much devoted and resourceful people could contribute to the preservation of the local and national culture by working within the system, even in an inhospitable political environment.

Ort:
- Madona Skolas iela 12, Latvia LV-4801
Themen:
- Alternative Lebensstile und Eigensinn im Alltag
- nationale Bewegungen (patriotische Opposition)
Gründungsdatum:
- 1944
Besondere Beispiele:
- Photography of Vladislavs Urtāns with pupils of Madon district schools