Battle for the castle : the myth of Czechoslovakia in Europe, 1914-1948

301 Pages·2009·2.27 MB·English

by  Andrea Orzoff

Battle for the Castle
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attle for the astle
B C
1914 1948
The Myth of Czechoslovakia in Europe, –
Andrea Orzoff
1
2009
3
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Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,
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withoutthepriorpermissionofOxfordUniversityPress.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Orzoff,Andrea.
Battleforthecastle:themythofCzechoslovakiainEurope,1914–1948/AndreaOrzoff.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN 978–0–19–536781–2
1. Propaganda—Czechoslovakia. 2. Politicalculture—Czechoslovakia. 3. Czechoslovakia—Relations.
4. Masaryk,T.G.(TomášGarrigue),1850–1937. 5. Beneš,Edvard,1884–1948. I. Title.
JN2222.Z13P8562009
943.703’2–dc22 2008038396
Partsoftheworkappearedinslightlydifferentforminthefollowingarticles:
AndreaOrzoff,“PragueP.E.N.andCulturalNationalism,1924–1938,”
NationalitiesPapers29/2(2001):243–265.
BypermissionofTaylor&Francis.http://www.informaworld.com.
AndreaOrzoff,“‘TheLiteraryOrganofPolitics’:TomášMasarykandPoliticalJournalism,
1925–1929,”SlavicReview63,no.2(Summer2004):275–300.
BypermissionoftheAmericanAssociationfortheAdvancementofSlavicStudies.
AndreaOrzoff,“TheEmpirewithoutQualities:Austro-HungarianNewspapers
andtheOutbreakofWarin1914,”inACalltoArms:Propaganda,PublicOpinion,
andNewspapersintheGreatWar,ed.TroyR.E.Paddock©2004byTroyR.E.Paddock.
ReproducedwithpermissionofGreenwoodPublishingGroup,Inc.,Westport,CT.
AndreaOrzoff,“TheHusbandman:TomášMasaryk’sLeaderCultinInterwar
Czechoslovakia,”AustriaHistoryYearbook39(2008).
BypermissionofAustriaHistoryYearbookandtheCenterforAustrianStudies.
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
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ParaIñigo, Samuel, yMateo,demicorazón.
Graciasalavida,queme hadadotanto...
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Historyismerehistory.Mythsarewhatmatter:they
determinethetypeofhistoryacountryisboundtocreate
andrepeat.
—JorgeLuisBorges
Amythisatthesametimeimperfectibleand
unquestionable;timeorknowledgewillnotmakeit
betterorworse.
—RolandBarthes
...theFrenchfusssomuchaboutthenationbecauseitis
alivingproblem,becameonewhentheysetthenationup
asanideal,remainedonebecausetheyfoundtheycould
notrealizetheideal.... Whenonegetsdowntofacts,
thingsbecomeawkward.
—EugenWeber
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Acknowledgments
Thisbookhasbeenalongtimeincoming,andIamgladtobeabletothank
all who helped it along the way. Many institutions and organizations have
graciously supported my writing and research: my thanks to the American
CouncilofLearnedSocieties,theDeutscherAkademischerAustauschdienst,
theInternationalResearchandExchangesBoard,theNationalEndowment
fortheHumanities,NewMexicoStateUniversity,andStanfordUniversity.
Passages in this book were adapted from articles appearing in the Aus-
trian History Yearbook, Nationalities Papers, the Slavic Review, and in Troy
Paddock, ed., A Call to Arms: Propaganda, Public Opinion, and Newspapers
intheGreatWar.Ithankthesejournals,theUniversityofMinnesota’sCenter
forAustrianStudies,TaylorandFrancis,andPraegerPressforpermissionto
use this material. I also thank the two anonymous readers for Oxford for
their thoughtful comments, and my remarkable editor, Susan Ferber, who
patientlyguidedthemanuscriptanditsauthor.Ipresentedpartsofthisbook
atColumbiaUniversity’sHarrimanInstitute,RutgersUniversity’sCenterfor
EuropeanStudies,theYaleUniversityHistoryDepartment’sSlavicandEast
EuropeanReadingGroup,andatseveralyearlyconventionsoftheAmerican