Poroztahování železné opony: československá mezibloková vědecko-technická spolupráce v éře Antonína Novotného (1953–1968)
he Development of Czechoslovak Inter-Bloc Scientific-Technical Cooperation in the Era of Antonín Novotný

Summary/Abstract: The topic of Czechoslovak scientific-technical cooperation with the Western Bloc has recently enjoyed a revival of interest, which can be illustrated by the works of Doubravka Olšáková, Valentina Fava, or Emilie Těšínská. Ne­ver­theless, there is still a range of specific aspects that have been omitted from the consideration of contemporary studies, the analysis of which seems to be a prerequisite for a comprehensive depiction of the history of the cross-Curtain flows of know-how, experts and capital. In this respect, it is appro­priate to revisit some of the works of more technically oriented authors of the communist and early post-communist era (Miloslav Ernst, Jaroslav Nykryn, Karel Kaplan) and to objectivize their often ideologized conclusions with new findings from primary sources. To this end, both the fonds of industrial ministries in the Czech National Archives, as well as records of international organizations (UN, GATT, UNESCO) located in Geneva were consulted. As these newly accessible archival materials reveal, compared to the Gottwald era (1948–1953), the subsequent period of Antonín Novotný (1953–1968) saw a dynamic development of the forms and content of inter-bloc cooperation, which allowed for the exchange of competitive scientific-technical know-how and modern technologies that proved to have a significant positive impact on the further development of the Czechoslovak economy.

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