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Zídek, Petr
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5 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Army of dogs fouling Prague's parks
The Czechs' love for dogs leaves its mark everywhere you look, above all in Prague's parks, the conservative daily Lidové noviny complains: "The biggest square in Prague, Charles Square, should be a calm green oasis in the centre of the city, like the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris. Somewhere you can sit and gaze, lie in the grass, play pétanque, sip coffee or go for a jog. Instead we've got trees that are old and sick, pavements dotted with holes dating from the 1950s, newspaper stands that are hardly any younger, a parody of a playground and lawns full of dog's dirt. ... And this affliction is also in evidence elsewhere. A project to rejuvenate the square tendered in 2008 failed because of hysterics who compared cutting down old, sick trees with the Holocaust, preservationists for whom the underground remains of an old chapel are more important than a pleasant park, and above all because of the dog owners. No one seems to notice that our public spaces are occupied by an army of dogs. When will the resistance strike back?"
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More from the press review on the subject » Architecture / Cities, » Public Culture, » Czech Republic
Czechs disregard literature Nobel laureate
This Friday will be the 110th anniversary of the birth of the Czech author Jaroslav Seifert, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1984. The conservative daily Lidové noviny complains that Seifert has been practically forgotten in the Czech Republic: "In any culturally aware country the 110th birthday of a Nobel laureate would prompt a number of new biographies, interpretations or extracts from his work. And here? ... In 2001 Akropolis publishing house began publishing his collected works. Five years later the project was ditched owing to the lack of public interest. In the end only 300 copies were sold. This is a disgrace. These works should have a place in every public library, of which we have around 5,400. If we really are such philistines that only 300 people out of ten million buy Seifert's works why don't we try to find some sponsors? Is there no one who wants to boost his reputation with the help of Jaroslav Seifert?"
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More from the press review on the subject » Literature, » Cultural Policy, » Czech Republic
Preserve exile journals from oblivion
The first issue of the Czechoslovakian exile magazine Listy was published 40 years ago. The bi-monthly still exists today, but it shares the fate of other exile publications: it is virtually impossible to get hold of issues from its early years. The conservative daily Lidové noviny is concerned that these issues could be forgotten entirely: "Listy quickly became a key testimony to exile that above all influenced those who left the country after the Soviet invasion in 1968. The communist secret services also took an interest in the publication, and even sent a letter bomb to its publisher in 1974 'as a deterrent'. ... Even in the major libraries those who take an interest in the publication won't have any luck. Although we have several projects for digitalising written works so they can be read comfortably at the computer, no one has come up with the idea of including the exile magazines. It's high time they did."
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More from the press review on the subject » Print media, » History, » Remembrance culture, » Czech Republic
A black time in Czech post-war history
The mass grave found near Jihlava in the Czech Republic containing the remains of Germans who were presumably killed by Czechs after World War II has sparked a lively debate in the country. The conservative daily Lidové noviny speaks of "one of the blackest times of the Czech history. Six years of occupation, persecution and violence created a desire for revenge among much of the population. ... Merely listing the locations where Germans are known to have been killed in 1945 could fill several news sheets. ... One cannot expect the investigation into the murders committed 65 years ago to lead to the condemnation of the perpetrators. The crimes have long been statute-barred and charges of genocide [not subject to a limitations period] would not hold up in court. However we can expect the truth and moral purification. It seems that at least those who have erected a cross on the location of the crime by Jihlava are already moving in that direction."
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More from the press review on the subject » History, » Remembrance culture, » Germany, » Czech Republic
Stalinism on trial
A trial against former public prosecutor Ludmila Brožová-Polednová who in a 1950s Stalinist show trial helped to send democrat Milada Horáková to the scaffold begins in the Czech Republic today. The conservative daily Lidové noviny expresses the hope that the court confirms the eight-year sentence handed down to the defendant by the court of first instance. "If Czech justice were not so slow Brožová-Polednová would be called to account for her part in hundreds of other trials between 1950 and 1964. There were no more death sentences, but people were sentenced to years in prison. ... Among the victims were Catholic priests, big farmers, politicians, and people who unsuccessfully tried to flee the republic or demonstrated against the communist currency reform. In 1954 Brožová-Polednová was prosecutor in a trial in which a farmer was sentenced to 20 years in prison for allegedly causing the spread of harmful potato beetles. ... We should show no mercy for this almost 87-year-old woman today and let her serve her sentence. Did she show any mercy to those whose lives she destroyed?"
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More from the press review on the subject » History, » Czech Republic
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