"It was an occupation, right?" Suggesting one of
many answers Cover Image

"Byla to okupace, není-liž pravda?" Předložení jedné z hypotéz
"It was an occupation, right?" Suggesting one of many answers

Author(s): Igor Zavorotchenko
Subject(s): History, Social Sciences
Published by: Západočeská univerzita v Plzni
Keywords: August 1968; Czechoslovakia; history of everyday life; historical memory; occupation; oral history.

Summary/Abstract: Based on material gathered by Czech historians and personal testimonies givenby eyewitnesses during oral history interviews recorded by the author himself,this article focuses on the significantly different interpretations of the Soviet military presence in Czechoslovakia after August 1968, as they appear in Czech or(post) Soviet sources. Defining this event either as an “occupation”, or avoiding,and even refusing to use this term, remains a fundamental dividing line. Theauthor attempts to understand the interpretation of these events as evidence of thedifferences in the wider meaning Czechs and Russians give to their own recenthistory.

  • Issue Year: 2020
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 93-110
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: English