Podoby antisemitismu v Čechách a na Slovensku v 20. a 21. století
Vrzgulová, Monika - Kubátová, Hana a kol.

brožovaná,  242 str., 1. vydání
vydáno: únor 2017
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Kolektivní monografie o podobách antisemitismu v Čechách a na Slovensku analyzuje diskursivní a vizuální formy obrazu Žida v české a slovenské většinové společnosti. Příspěvky se zabývají otázkou, jak se v průběhu 20. a 21. století utvářel pojem „Žid“ nebo „židovský“ a jak se v souvislosti s tímto „cizím“ obrazem utvářel obraz „nás“ samotných. Autoři jednotlivých studií se ve svých analýzách tematicky obrací k otázce kontinuity a transformace těchto zrcadlových obrazů a zároveň zkoumají vztah identity a (politické) moci. Badatelé na příkladu Protektorátu Čechy a Morava, válečného slovenského státu, komunistického Československa, ale také soudobých reálií přesvědčivě ukazují, že antisemitismus není vázaný na skutečného nebo domnělého nepřítele, nýbrž na (sebe)legitimizační konstrukty. Předkládaná kniha je založena na využití dobového tisku, orálněhistorických životopisných rozhovorů, pamětí a archivních dokumentů. Také proto je publikace určena nejenom akademické obci a učitelské veřejnosti, ale všem zájemcům o fenomén antisemitismu, jeho projevy a vývoj ve 20. století a v současnosti.

This is a very informative historical study about the typology and manifestations of anti-Semitism during the 20th and 21st centuries in the Czech lands and Slovakia. The main focus is on (1) the continuities, discontinuties and transformations of the various forms of anti-Semitism, (2) questions relating to the evolution of Jewish ethno-religious identity and its relationship to Czech and Slovak national identies as well as political power, (3) the perspectives on Jews and anti-Semitism of both the Jewish minority and the general Czech and Slovak population, (4) the forms of collaboration and complicity of ordinary Czechs and Slovaks during the World War II Nazi genocide against the Jews, and (5) the continuity of processes and procedures behind the construction of a Jewish enemy - the bedrock of modern form of antisemitism. The monograph also addresses issues related to collective and individual memories. As the editors suggest in the Introduction and English summary, the book is not only about the Jews and the various forms of prejudice and discrimination they have been subjected to throughout history, but also about Czech and Slovak societies as such, from whose social structures anti-Semitism in all its manifestations has emanated.
The focus of the book outlined above raises new questions about the endurance of anti- Semitism under different political regimes and socio-historical contexts. Examining 20th and 21st century anti-Semitism from the perspectives of both the Jewish minority and the general population enables authors of the individual chapters to raise new questions, and provide new evidence about troubling questions about forms of collaboration and complicity of the general Czech and Slovak population in anti-Semitism throughout modern Czech and Slovak histories, but especially during World War II. By focusing both on the masses and the cultural and political elites, the authors raise questions which were previously considred taboo in Czech and Slovak historical discourse.
Both general theoretical frameworks and methodologies are highly appropriate. The first chapter provides a very good overview of the various definitions of anti-Semitism, and in the following chapters, the individual authors make very good use of the typology. The interdisciplinary character of the monograph ensures a variety of methodologies employed, from archival research through content analysis of newspapers and satirical magazines to oral and visual histories. The monograph has greatly benefitted from being based on papers presented at a scholarly conference. While many collective monographs contain individual contributions of uneven quality, this particular pitfall of collaborative work is completely avoided in this monograph. The authors exhibit familiarity with each others' perspectives and data, and build on them. Thus the book covers a broad range of issues no individual author could cover, yet it reads as a well written, unified book.

Z recenzního posudku: Professor Emeritus Alena Heitlinger, Ph. D.