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V**R
A History of Czechoslovakia Before During and After the War
This book was a remarkable explanation of why Czechoslovakia turned toward Russia and became a communist satellite state. As another reviewer pointed out, Czechoslovakia was thrown under the bus any time such action would placate Hitler. Neville Chamberlain and the French allowed Hitler to invade and occupy Czechoslovakia in a an attempt to satisfy Hitler. Today we all know that nothing was going to placate Hitler and a war was inevitable. The British were not prepared for a full scale war and by abandoning the Czechs, they bought time to build their military. None of the big countries like England, France,or Russia were willing to go to war to honor treaties they signed with the Czechs to guarantee them protection. The English and French were blatant in their disregard of Czech rights and the treaties they signed at the Munich conference. Czechoslovakia was not even invited to the Munich conference where her very existence was decided. Since Russian involvement depended on French action, the Russians were off the hook. Only french involvement in Czech defense would have given rise to a Russian obligation to defend Czechoslovakia. Thus their treaty with Czechoslovakia did not operate merely because Hitler intended to invade and occupy the country. Even tho Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia, its treaty with Russia did not require Russia to defend them. Hence, Russia was not in violation of any agreement the Czechs had with it when it was occupied by Germany. Because the British and the French both ignored their treaty with the Czechs and allowed Germany to invade and occupy Czechoslovakia, many Czechs had a bad taste in their mouth about the western European countries and hence the U.S. There was also an incident at the end of the war during which the Czech population fought the remaining German troops. They requested arms and military help from the U.S. army. For a variety of reasons having nothing to do with the deservedness of their cause, aid was witheld. Many Czech lives were needlessly lost and perhaps, this too gave rise to anti-U.S. feelings. In any case the Czechs no longer trusted the U.S., Britain or France. Therefore, it was probably more palatable to work with the Russians after the war than the west. Further, most Czechs were peasants. They were poor. The notion of communism offered a romantic ray of hope in a country impoverished by a depression and a war it did not want. I have been to Prague and Terezenstadt. The cities survived the war intact because there was very little bombing. It contained few essential resources for military needs so it was primarily spared.However, I had hoped that Ms. Albright would examine her Jewish roots more meaningfully. Clearly her parents were secular Jews who even put up a Xmas tree b/c Xmas was a national holiday. Being Jewish in the diplomatic core could not have been easy. At the time our own state department had few if any Jews and was outwardly anti-semetic. So it would be understandable if Korbel, Albright's father tried to hide his Judaism. Further, he lost so many relatives in the holocaust merely because they were Jewish. One could forgive concealing one's Judaism in a future life for that reason alone. However, the author tells us none of these things. She also does a rather superficial investigation. It is true that most of her relatives including her three living grandparents perished under horrific conditions in the holocaust. However, her telling of their fate was a dry unemotional history. Under Jewish law her mother was Jewish and she is Jewish. Since she is Jewish so are her children. Did she investigate the faith to see if she was drawn to it? Did she encourage her siblings or her children to learn about Judaism to see if the Jewish faith might be more fitting for them than Christianity. I don't think there was any encouragement in this direction. She claims that she has no material in her father's papers from which to draw any conclusions, because she didn't learn of the issue for 6 decades. However, her cousin , Dasa was alive. Surely she remembered Jewish rituals performed by her aunts. There is no explanation about any communication with Dasa over their Jewish history. Surely Dasa was aware that she was sent to live in England with her cousin Madeline and her aunt and uncle because the situation in Prague was becoming dangerous for Jews. She could not have believed herself to be catholic. Had she been catholic there would have been no reason to flee. I find the book lacking in this area. I'd like to see Ms. Albright study the religion, attend a few synagogue sermons and bible classes and consider her reaction. I suspect she is not a person of faith. However, her mother must have prepared typically Jewish dishes for the family when she was growing up. This is a cultural issue. Did her mother prepare the meat filled and boiled dumplings called "Kreplach"? How about the fruit filled cookies called "rugalach?" Did she ever make a matzoh ball? Gefilte fish? Did she make a beef short rib and cabbage soup called "cabbage borscht" without adding the sour cream? Non Jews often ate the soup with sour cream but Jews typically did not. Does she remember if her mother ever made a pork roast? If not doesn't she find that odd. Even if they ate it at the homes of others, did the family ever prepare it at home. I bet that other than during wartime shortages they didn't. In Britain during WWII everyone including Jews ate an American canned meat(pork) product called spam. During the blitz London survived on it. Since refrigeration could be sporadic, spam was the only "meat" available. So eating spam does not count in this evaluation. Often even though a family is not religious, festival foods are still lovingly remembered and prepared. Eating habits may not change though the religious ritual or reason for them has vanished. Now even non-Jews eat these dishes in Jewish style restaurants located in big cities all over the U.S. Yet Ms. Albright did not mention even one of these. Judaism values teaching and learning. It values the individual's right to self determination. Were any of her values traceable to her Jewish roots? She doesn't touch on this and we will never know.Note: I have just learned that one of her daughters married into a Jewish family and that her youngest grandson is preparing for his bar mitzvah. I wish she had mentioned this in her book and described to what extent her daughter has either become Jewish or decided to raise her children Jewish.
P**W
Very interesting story
Well written and engaging. So interesting to know that she learned this about her family's past so late in her life.
P**L
excellent history with a personal approach
I do have a weakness for reading histories of the first half of the twentieth century. Just when I think there can't be anything new to learn about this time period I read a personal account of events that brings a whole new perspective. Madeleine Albright, former US secretary of state, has written just such a history in recounting events in Czechoslovakia from 1937-1948. Interspersed with these major events is the story of Albright's own family. Her father, Josef Korbel was a diplomat for the Czech government and worked in Prague before WWII, in London during the war and back in Czechoslovakia after the war. His family, Albright and her mother and later a sister and brother accompanied him during this time.Albright who has access to her father's diplomatic papers gives very good descriptions of the major players in this drama. The larger than life founder of the republic; TG Masaryk is described as is Edvard Benes the Czech president in exile during WWII. Czechoslovakia was really the only true eastern European democracy after WWI. The republic was betrayed at Munich by the British and French when they ceded parts of Czechoslovakia to Hitler. Albright tells this story from the Czech viewpoint and it reads like a thriller. She also describes scenes and characters from the Czech resistance movement during the war who assassinated the Reich proctor, Reinhard Heydrich. Again the detail in this story is riveting. When the war ends the Czechoslovakia is again abandoned by the western allies and the Soviet Union adds Czechoslovakia to its group of satellite states in eastern Europe. In the immediate post war years Albright's father is a key player in the democratic government and is forced to leave the country after the Soviets murder Jan Marysk the pro western foreign minister. Albright examines all of the evidence about Masaryk's death and concludes as have most historians that he was murdered by the Soviets.While the national events are interesting, Albright's family story is fascinating. As you might know, Albright found out in the 1990s that her heritage was Jewish and not Roman Catholic as she had thought. Her parents became Catholics in Britain during the war and never discussed with their children that decision. The family was not religious so I continue to be puzzled by this decision made in the relative safety of England in 1940. Albright seems as mystified by the decision as I was. Most of her extended family (grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles) was lost in the Holocaust. She discussed this in the book, and as with any story that puts faces on this horrific story it is quite moving. Her family experienced the Blitz in London and the post war events in Prague and in Belgrade where her father was ambassador. She details the leadership failings that allowed communism to rise in Czechoslovakia. The book ends the story in 1948 when the Korbels immigrate to the United States.I was interested to read this book because I will attend an author event where Albright will speak about the story. Only in American could someone, a woman no less, come as an immigrant and end up as the secretary of state. Can't wait to hear her story first hand!
R**R
EXCELLENT NARRATIVE OF A PART OF THE COMPLEXITY OF WWII
When it all begun, my parents where 12. They are from Kosice and mostly my father always talked about some aspects of this terrible years, but I could hardly put them in context because all I have read about WWII mentioned only in a general way the details of Czechoslovakia.This book has helped me understand what they lived in a chronological way. In fact my father now 87 years old is reading the book as when I mentioned it to him he wanted to clarify his perceptions of all that happened and what he could understood at such a young age.Mrs. Albright sure was a lucky little girl as their parents due to their diplomatic careers had the opportunity to shield her from those terrible years, and trough this pages you see how she also lost members of her family in the hands of the Nazis and their ¨final solution¨.For me, now 55, all that was left was my grandmother in my mothers side, a sister of my mother and a brother of my father.After the communists took over, my parents went away, moved to Israel where my sister and I where born, and then came to Venezuela looking for a better future.....and now Communism is catching up again. Life is a strange circus and at the end we are just the clowns!
R**N
good, but a little uneven
A good general introduction to Czech history, particularly the period from independence, through the war and into the early days of communism. I was not aware of the critical role the invasion of Czechoslovakia played in the rise of the Nazis, nor was I that aware of Czech history before. So this book has started to fill a hole in my knowledge.What weakened the book for me was the unevenness of style - at points straight historical analysis (of the great people make history type), at parts personal family history and personal reminisces and sometimes general moralising on these histories None of these are bad and the author writes well, but it felt a bit of a mishmash to me. But not a bad place to start an intro to Czech history - a small but historically very important nation.
C**Y
Prague Winter - Excellent!
I love history and am very interested in the history of Czechoslovakia. This book was a wonderful chronicle of the history of this country throughout the years between the beginnings of the First Republic to the Velvet Revolution and especially of interest were the mention of personal experiences as her family knew many of the leaders involved in all the decisions during these years - I greatly admire Mrs. Albright. I could not put this book down!
D**.
Worth the read
This book is a powerful story of hope and purpose in the midst of historic tragedy, made poignant by the personal experiences of the author and her family. It's hard not to come away from this book with a deeper appreciation for and respect of the Czech people, including the book's author.
M**E
A good read indeed.
I am still reading the book (due to work commitments) however it is a very good book and well written. I am going to Prague on Monday 10th April and I was reading everything I could get my hands on about the city.
E**S
An excellent account of Madeleine Albright's unusual experiences of World War ...
An excellent account of Madeleine Albright's unusual experiences of World War II and its aftermath together with the plight of the Czech Republic at that time.
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