V duchovní službě na válečných polích i v Československé republice
In the spiritual service on battlefields and in the Czechoslovak Republic

Summary/Abstract: The extensive two-tome monograph titled "With the eagle and the lion", with subtitles "Stories of Czech military chaplains from the 17th century until the Great War" (Prague and Ústí nad Labem: Epocha and Univerzita J. E. Purkyně, 2018) and "Stories of Czech military chaplains during the dramatic 20th century" (Prague: Epocha and Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů, 2019), deals with on a topic that has not been, until now, in the focus of attention of Czech historians, namely on transformations of the military spiritual service in the Czech Lands since the 17th until the mid-20th centuries. The author, Martin Flosman, concentrates on military chaplains in the Austrian, or Austro-Hungarian army, among Czechoslovak legionnaires, and also in the Czechoslovak Army in the period of the First Republic, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, and first years of the post-war “people’s democracy” until the disbandment of the spiritual service in the army by the Communist regime in 1950. Although primarily interested in Roman Catholic chaplains, he does not leave aside Greek Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant priests, field rabbis, or imams, and analyzes their diverse duties. The reviewer appreciates the multitude of sources, whether published or not, the author’s comprehensive approach and coverage, and his perceptive description of the fate of military chaplains on battlefields, particularly during both world wars. The work allows to perceive the duty of military chaplains as a multifaceted phenomenon over three and a half centuries, and its gripping presentation, including many biographic medallions of priests, makes it open for a broad audience of readers.

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