NewsCZECH the NewsNewsletter of the Embassy of the Czech Republic

Vol. 1, 2007

Contents:Message from the Ambassador......... 2

Visa Waiver Program Changes........ . 2

Timeline of Events.......................... . 3

Cuba Transition to DemocracySummit......................................... . 3

Czechs Call on Belarus to FreeOppostion Leader........................... 3

Czech Funds Help RebuildHurricane Sites.............................. . 4

Don Juan in Prague and New York.. . 5

Czech Republic ReducesEmissions...................................... . 5

New Staff....................................... 5

Paul Hostovsky................................ 6

Cestmir Suska................................. 7

Lions of Czech Film Series.................8

DC Environmental Film Festival....... ..9

Upcoming Embassy Exhibitions..........9

Stapleton-Springer Winery...............10

Czech Astronomers DiscoverAsteroid........................................10

The “California Masaryk”................11

Czech Fun Facts.............................11

AFoCR Prints First Book Title............11

Czech Events................... (back cover)

Contact Us......................(back cover)

PhotocourtesyofPaulHostovsky

Former Czech presidentVaclav Havel spent nearly 2months in residence at

Columbia University in NewYorkstarting in October and endingDecember 15, 2006. Organized bythe Arts Initiative at Columbia,Mr. Havel’s stay offered theColumbia community and theNew York public at large theopportunity to learn more aboutHavel’s roles as political leader,artist, essayist, human rightsactivist, and citizen. Activitiesplanned during his stay explored

the connection be-tween art and citi-zenship and allowedMr. Havel a forum tocommunicate withstudents throughlectures, panel par-ticipation, and apublic discussionwith former U.S.president Bill Clin-ton. The Arts Initia-tive also organized aseries of symposiaContinued on page 4

Havel Residency at Columbia University

In collaborationwith the Victims ofCommunism Me-

morial Foundation, theEmbassy of the CzechRepublic hosted theTruman-ReaganMedalof FreedomAwards onNovember 14, 2006.Approximately 200guests were in atten-dance, among themU.S. Secretary of De-fense Donald Rumsfeldand Senator John Warner, Chair-man of the SenateArmed ServicesCommittee. Ambassador PetrKolar opened the celebrationsaying that it was dedicated to“freedom fighters, those who

sacrificed their lives for freedomand democracy, and those whosupport them.” He added thatCzechs have learned from theirown history that, “democracy ishard to win but is very easy to

Embassy Honors Freedom Defenders

Actor Shawn Wallace speaks withformer President Vaclav Havel in New York

Egon Hostovsky’sAmerican LegacySee page 6.

lose,” and congratulated theevening’s recipients forsupporting “our jointeffort to build and preservedemocracy around theworld.”The 2006 honorees

were Edwin J. Feulner,President of the HeritageFoundation, and posthu-mously, Milada Horakova,Czech martyr and pro-democracy advocate whowas found guilty on

trumped-up charges of treason andexecuted by Czechoslovakia’sCommunist regime in 1950.Horakova’s daughter, JanaKanska, accepted the award on hermother’s behalf.

Donald Rumsfeld congratulates Jana Kanska, daughterof award recipient, Milada Horakova

PhotocourtesyofMaryE.Fetzko

CourtesyPhoto

Czechs Send Holiday Cards to Political Prisoners

In response to an appeal by theCzech humanitarian organiza-tion People In Need, Czechs

sent more than 2,500 greetingcards to political prisoners inCuba, Burma, and Belarus duringthe 2006 holiday season. The cardcampaign, “Happy New Year inFreedom,” was designed toreassure unjustly prosecutedpolitical prisoners that the interna-tional community is not indifferentto their fate.

People in Need BurmaProject Coordinator, MariePerinova said, “The largestnumber of Christmas cards so farhas been sent to the young

Burmese student Zin Mar Aungwho was arrested in 1998 andsentenced to 7 years in prison forher participation in a demonstra-tion against the regime.” ZinMar Aung is still incarcerated.Perinova went on to say thatpolitical prisoners are glad toreceive personal Christmas cardsand that the gesture has the addedbenefit of prompting prison guardsto better treat prisoners whoreceive hundreds of letters fromabroad.

In Belarus the story of60-year-old Katsyaryna Sadouskaprovoked the greatest interest.Mrs. Sadouska was sentenced as

an opponent of the regime when adraft letter was found at herapartment in which she calledBelarusian President AlexanderLukashenko “a monster.” Accord-ing to nongovernmental organiza-tions, more than a dozen peoplehave been imprisoned in Belarusfor criticizing the Lukashenkoregime, but this number increasedto more than 100 during theanti-government demonstrationsof the 2006 Belarus presidentialelection. The number of long-termpolitical prisoners in Cuba exceeds300 while more than 1,190 protest-ers have been imprisoned by themilitary junta in Burma.

Current Events

Czech the News/Vol. 1, 200722

Dear Friends,Those of you who have been following Embassy activities know that visa reciprocity between theUnited States and the Czech Republic is one of the top priorities of my ambassadorship. When

President George Bush recently visited Estonia he announced changes to the U.S. VisaWaiver Program(VWP) and pledged to work with the new Congress to bring about the legislation needed to amend cri-teria for VWP participation. President Bush’s new vision of the VWP shifts its focus from economicconcerns to improved security standards that better reflect the current realities of post- 9/11 securityneeds. These new measures will have to be met by all countries—the United States, nations already par-ticipating in the VWP, as well as those that are working to gain VWP admittance.

The Czech Republic welcomes this news (you can read the details of VWP changes below). Wesee it as an opportunity to raise security standards, ensuring safer travel, commerce, and exchange forall countries. This shift in VWP policy represents the spirit of fairness and equality with which we havealways perceived the United States and shows that our friends in the U.S. administration are workingtoward a win-win policy that benefits our countries on a bilateral basis while enhancing global security.

Meanwhile, the Czech government already has been raising travel security standards. In fall 2006,we became one of the first European Union (EU) countries to produce e-passports with biometric data.

Czech passports are equipped with an integrated chip that contains the holder’s information. We also have been updating airport and travelsecurity measures according to EU standards, putting the Czech Republic in step with the security changes proposed by the Bush Adminis-tration. With enhanced security as the main criterion for VWP participation, I feel we are finally achieving tangible progress in our efforts toremove the visa requirement for Czech citizens wishing to visit the United States.

One highlight from the several major Embassy events this fall was the reception we cohosted with the Victims of CommunismMemorialFoundation for the Truman-Reagan Medal of FreedomAwards. Two worthy proponents of democratic principles received the honors for theirdemonstrated commitment to freedom and opposition to communism—our good friend and President of the Heritage Foundation, Edwin J.Feulner; and posthumously, the Czech hero and anti-communist martyr, Milada Horakova. Donald Rumsfeld and Senator JohnWarner servedas keynote speakers, with Jana Kanska, daughter of Milada Horakova, accepting the award on behalf of her mother.

In addition to these important political and consular activities, our cultural section has planned numerous winter events from film screen-ings and concerts to sculpture and art exhibitions. In January 2007, the Embassy launched a new film series, Lions of Czech Film, at theAvalonTheatre, for the Washington community. This series presents the best of modern Czech cinema and directly benefits Czech filmmakers andtheir projects. (For full details on all cultural activities, please read the cultural listings on page 8.)

I invite all of you, whether you live in Washington, or will travel here in the coming months, to partake in our many Embassy events. Inthe meantime, I wish you all great happiness and many successes in the New Year.

Warm regards,

Petr Kolar

Message from the AAmmbbaassssaaddoorr

While visiting Estonia inlate fall 2006, PresidentGeorge Bush announced

changes to the U.S. Visa WaiverProgram (VWP) that wouldexpand the number of countrieswhose citizens can travel visa-freeto the United States. Mr. Bush’snew initiative addresses a majorpoint of contention among the newmember states of the EuropeanUnion (EU) that have not had visaparity with the United States sincebecoming democracies in the early1990s.

On November 30, 2006,officials from the Department ofHomeland Security (DHS) and theDepartment of State gathered atthe Embassy of the CzechRepublic in Washington, DC, tomeet with representatives from the12 EU member states that are notcurrently included in the VWP.DHS Acting Assistant SecretaryMr. Paul Rosenzweig outlined the

VWP legislation in late January or early February 2007, andPresident Bush has pledged towork with the new Congress

proposed VWP changes sayingthat its focus will shift away from economic concerns and ontoimproved security standards thatbetter reflect the current realities of post- 9/11 security needs. Thesenew measures will have to be metby all allied countries, includingthe United States, nations alreadyparticipating in the VWP, andthose that are still working to gainVWP admittance.

Mr. Rosenzweig emphasizedthat the 3 percent refusal rate ofvisa applications, which has been a frustration for countriestrying to attain VWP inclusion,will become secondary to theseven new security criteria. TheU.S. Government will seeklegislation that allows for a waiver of the 3 percent rate forqualified U.S. allies that fulfill theseven new security criteria. The Bush administration isexpected to propose the new

Visa Waiver Program Changes

Photo courtesy of Chad Wyatt

to bring about legislation that will amend criteria for VWPparticipation.

The security criteria are:

1. Improvements in international reporting of lost and stolen passports.

2. Home country assistance with expeditious repatriation of foreign nationals who have been ordered to be removed from the U.S.

3. Passenger information exchange.

4. Electronic travel authorization system.

5. Cooperation between governments regarding U.S. Federal air marshals on direct flights to the United States.

6. Common standards for security and baggage screening at airports where flights to the U.S. originate.

7. Improved standards for travel documents and passport security features.

Democracy in Action

33Czech the News/Vol. 1, 2007

Former Minister ofForeign Affairs ofthe Czech Repub-

lic Cyril Svoboda andCzech AmbassadorPetr Kolar attended theCuba Transition toDemocracy Summit onOctober 13, 2006, inMiami, Florida. TheSummit drew on experiences of Centraland Eastern Europeancountries that havetransitioned from communism to democracy and strove to identify waysto assist the Cuban pro-democracy movement. The initiative, “Friends ofa Democratic Cuba,” recently formed by the Czech Republic, Hungary,Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania, and Slovenia in support of democratic tran-sition in Cuba was highlighted.

Among the dignitaries and representatives of governments fromLatin America, Eastern Europe, and the United States who gathered toexpress their support for democratic change in Cuba were Florida Gov-ernor Jeb Bush; Paula Dobriansky, U.S. Under Secretary, Democracyand Global Affairs; and members of the U.S. House and Senate. Variousnon-governmental organizations including the Czech foundation, Peoplein Need, were represented and leaders from the Cuban-American com-munity gathered to discuss ideas on ways to accelerate democraticchange in Cuba.

In his presentation, “The Czech Experience – Lessons forCuba/Strengthening Civil Society,” Mr. Svoboda shared Czech experi-ences with the transition to democracy, followed by remarks from Am-bassador Kolar during the session on “International Solidarity on theGround.” In a lunchtime talk, Under Secretary Dobriansky discussed theimplications of the inevitable change in Cuban politics already underwaywith the transfer of power from Fidel Castro to his brother, and pledgedthat the U.S. Government is “actively supporting a genuine transition todemocracy—not a succession from one dictator to another.”

Representatives from all European organizations and governmentsreasserted their promise to continue supporting Cuban independent civilsociety and offered encouragement for Cuban political prisoners and activists who are working toward democratic change on the island. TheCzech Republic, and its central and eastern European partners in the“Friends of a Democratic Cuba” alliance, pledged to continue assistingthe democratic forces in Cuba mainly through sharing their experiencesof transition from totalitarianism to democracy.

Cuba Transition to Democracy Summit

Czechs Call on Belarus to Free Opposition LeaderSocialist Democratic Party, Mr.Kozulin is a former presidentialcandidate and former rector of Belarusian State University.

Under articles 19 and 21 ofthe International Covenant onCivil and Political Rights, to whichBelarus is a state party, Mr.Kozulin’s imprisonment consti-tutes a violation of his rights tofreedom of expression and assem-bly. Others arrested at the sameprotests and found guilty of“hooliganism” were sentenced toonly 10–15 days of administrativedetention. To protest his jail termand draw international attention to the authoritarian rule of Presi-dent Alexander Lukashenka, Mr. Kozulin went on a hungerstrike. He called on the U.N. Secu-

The Czech government hascalled on Belarusian authori-ties to release opposition

leader Alexander Kozulin fromprison and provide him with immediate health care. The requestcame after four major Central European newspapers in the CzechRepublic, Lithuania, Poland, andSlovakia published an open letterurging their respective govern-ments to demand Mr. Kozulin’s release. Kozulin received a 5-and-half-year sentence and was imprisoned for “hooliganism” andleading protests against the authoritarian Lukashenka govern-ment during the March 2006 reelection of President AlexanderLukashenka. In addition to hisleadership of the Belarusian

rity Council to consider the legal-ity of the Lukashenka election andits human rights violations in Be-larus. After losing 88 pounds andnearing death, Kozulin ended his54-day hunger strike on December12, 2006, which he has indicatedhe could resume if the EuropeanUnion fails to attain a consolidatedposition on Belarus.

Reaction from interna-tional governments and organiza-tions has been vocal in criticizingthe anti-democratic actions of theLukashenka government. Outgo-ing European Union President and Finnish Prime Minister MattiVanhanen condemned the actionsof the Lukashenka regime callingBelarus “a scar” on the face of European democracy. In a show of

solidarity with Belarusian politicalprisoners, Czechs held a publicrally in Prague on December 16,2006. The rally was organized bythe Czech student civic organiza-tion Free Belarus (Svobodne Belorusko).

Alexander Kozulin

Photo courtesy of www.kozylin.com

Photo courtesy of Jiri Ellinger

Timeline of Events

Ambassador Kolar spoke at theopening of the new Center forCzech Education and Culture(CCEC), a nonprofit corporationthat promotes cultural and aca-demic exchange between theCzech Republic and the PacificNorthwest region.

November 9, 2006 Seattle, WA

Along with former-President Vaclav Havel and Miss World2006 Tatana Kucharova, Am-bassador Kolar attended theCzech Benefashion fundraiser inNew York to benefit SunflowerChildren, a Czech-Americannonprofit dedicated to helpingdisadvantaged children aroundthe world.

November 30, 2006 New York, NY

Ambassador Kolar joined keynote speaker and guest of honorMadeleine Albright at the VIAFoundation’s 10th anniversarycelebration and fundraiser. ACzech charitable organizationthat provides small grants andexpertise to nonprofit commu-nity initiatives, the VIA Founda-tion supports civic, cultural, andenvironmental projects in theCzech Republic.

December 12, 2006Pittsburgh, PA

Ambassador Kolar and CCEC Director Wayne Jehlik

Ambassador Petr Kolar, TatanaKucharova, Helena Houdova, and

Henry Kalan

From the left: Ambassador PetrKolar; Madeleine Albright, formerSecretary of State; and Jiri Barta,

VIA Executive Director.

Photo courtesy of Kate McElwee

Photo courtesy of Daniel Anyz

Photo courtesy of Blacktie-Pittsburgh

Ambassador Kolar speaks at the Summit

Current Events

Czech the News/Vol. 1, 200744

On December 13, 2006, thenewly built and renamedBayou La Batre Public Li-

brary held its grand opening inBayou La Batre, Alabama. DeputyAmbassador Jaroslav Kurfurst andCzech Honorary Consul inLouisiana Mr. Kenneth Zezulka attended the ribbon-cutting cere-mony and toured the new facility,whose 10,000-book collection was replaced using disaster relief fundsfrom the Czech Republic. Theopening of the new library successfully fulfilled the pledgemade by the Czech government inOctober 2005 to help rebuildingefforts in U.S. Gulf Coast areasdevastated by Hurricanes Katrinaand Rita.

With the help of Czech Honorary Consuls KennethZezulka in Louisiana and Raymond Snokhous in Texas, theEmbassy of the Czech Republic inWashington, DC, located recipients in Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi for therelief funds. An elementary schoolin Deweyville, Texas, received$100,000.00 for reconstruction. In

Louisiana, the University of NewOrleans received $120,000.00 tosponsor a new professorship inComparative Urban Planning andAdministration that will help reduce the impact of future naturaldisasters on urban areas. The TapiaPublic Library in Bayou La Batre,Alabama, was chosen to receive$111,000.00 to replace the library’s entire book collection,and the St. Vincent De Paul Community Pharmacy in Biloxi, Mississippi, was given$100,000.00 to restock medicine

and prescription supplies lost inthe flooding. In spring 2006, Ambassador Petr Kolar visitedthese sites and personally delivered the Czech aid.

Before attending the December 2006 library grandopening in Alabama, Mr. Kurfurstand Mr. Zezulka stopped in EastBiloxi, Mississippi. There they visited the temporary trailer thatcurrently houses the St. VincentDe Paul Community Pharmacywhile its new building is still underreconstruction. Before the storm,

the pharmacy was the Gulf Coast’sonly provider of free prescriptionpharmaceuticals to the needy. Itoperates solely with volunteerpharmacists and an all-volunteerstaff who donate their time andskills.

After witnessing firsthandhow funds from the Czech government are helping success-fully rebuild essential communityservices, Mr. Kurfurst said, “It’sclear that the money was put intothe right hands for the right projects.”

Czech Funds Help Rebuild Hurricane Sites

Continued from page 1and campus events aroundHavel’s visit where experts andprofessors independently ad-dressed specific art forms includ-ing theater, music, architecture,art, film, and literature and theirrelation to citizenship. In onepresentation, Orhan Pamuk, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prizefor Literature, and also in residence at Columbia, spokeabout important themes in Havel’slife and work. While discussingthe nature of political literatureand dissent in a society where of-ficial and personal truths are separate, Pamuk said, “A goodcitizen is a person who obeys. It isnot a prestigious concept.” OnHavel’s role as a dissident andartist in communist Czechoslova-kia, Pamuk remarked, “Good citizens do not make good artists.Bad citizens make good artists.”

Havel’s residency in NewYork was accompanied by aunique first-time staging of hiscomplete plays. The Untitled Theater Company #61 of NewYork performed 16 fully stagedproductions of Mr. Havel’s worksin Manhattan and in Brooklyn

over the 2-month period, alongwith readings from Havel’s bodyof writing.

Mr. Havel also found time totake part in celebrations of the17th anniversary of the fall ofcommunism in Czechoslovakiaand to continue his human rightsactivities. During a visit to theUnited Nations (UN), he presentednew UN Secretary-General BanKi-moon with a report signed inpublic by Havel, human rights activist Elie Wiesel, and Norwe-gian Prime Minister Kjell MagneBondevik designed to prompt theUN to address human rightsabuses in North Korea. Mr. Havelalso attended his first ever NHL

Havel Residency continued. . .

Photos courtesy of Daniel Anyz

Left: Deputy Chief of Mission Jaroslav Kurfurst speaks at the opening of the Bayou La Batre Public Library. Right: Bayou La Batre Mayor Stan Wright (center) cuts the ribbon to open the new library.

Left to right: Former President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel, Presidentof Columbia University Lee C. Bollinger, and former

President of the U.S. Bill Clinton

hockey game at Madison SquareGarden. The match pitted the NewYork Rangers, captained by Czechhockey superstar Jaromir Jagr,against the New Jersey Devils,also captained by a Czech player,Patrik Elias.

Mr. Havel’s visit to theUnited States continues into 2007 with a stay in Washington,DC, where he will research andwrite his next work at the Library of Congress. For more informa-tion, interviews, and highlightsfrom Havel’s residency at Columbia University, please visit:http://havel.columbia.edu/index.

Vaclav Havel attends a theaterperformance with MadeleineAlbright and Martin Palous

Vaclav Havel at the Public Theater

Vaclav Havel and playwrightIsrael Horovitz

Courtesy Photo

Courtesy Photo

Courtesy Photo

Courtesy Photo

Current Events

55Czech the News/Vol. 1, 2007

New StaffJiri Ellinger is the new Head of the PoliticalSection at the Embassy of the Czech Republic.Recently, he served as the Director of the Cabinetof the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Ministryof Foreign Affairs in Prague. He studied historyat The Queen’s College, Oxford (The UnitedKingdom), and holds Masters and Ph.D. degreesin modern history from Charles University,Prague. Mr. Ellinger is accompanied in Washing-ton by his wife Libuse, an art and ceramicsteacher, and their 3-year-old son Matej.

Ivona Hola is the new Political Officer for Europe and Eurasia at the Embassy of the CzechRepublic. Recently, she served as Head of theEuropean Security and Defense Policy Unit atthe Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Prague.

Her international studies experience includes a year in Geneva at the Geneva Center for Security Policyand 6 months in Konstanz, Germany, studying political science. Before joining the MFA, Ms. Hola workedas a journalist for various media outlets including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. A graduate of CharlesUniversity, Ms. Hola holds a Masters in Political Science and a Masters in Information Science and Librar-ianship. She speaks German, English, and French and is conversant in Spanish.

Petr Kavan, First Secretary, is the new Economic Officer at the Embassy of the Czech Republic. Mr.Kavan joined the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in 1997 and served as Assistant to the DeputyMinister of Foreign Affairs until 1999. From 1999–2003, he was posted to the Czech Embassy in Havana,Cuba, serving as Political Secretary and Deputy Chief of Mission. From 2003 until 2006, he worked at theMFA in Prague as a U.S. Desk Officer. Mr. Kavan graduated from Charles University in Prague and holdsa Masters in Economics. His wife, Martina, also an MFA employee—currently on maternity leave—is ac-companying him in Washington with their 2-and-half-year-old son Jakub and 4-month-old daughter Ka-terina.

From left to right: Petr Kavan, Ivona Hola, and Jiri Ellinger

Photo courtesy of JoAnn Cooper

Photo courtesy of Petra Hajska

Czech Republic Reduces Greenhouse

Emissions

The Czech Republic isamong the leading EuropeanUnion (EU) member states in reducing greenhouse gasemissions, according to European Commission statis-tics published in late 2006.Required by EU law to reduce emissions by 8 percent between 2008 and2012, the Czech Republicwill achieve a reduction ofmore than 25 percent by2010. Due to its success in declining emissions, theCzech Republic will not haveto make changes to its current policy of reducinggreenhouse gases.

Don Juan in Prague and New York

Marking the 2006 conclu-sion to the worldwide250th anniversary cele-

bration of Mozart’s birth, theBrooklyn Academy of Musicstaged a performance of Don Juanin Prague, a Czech-Americanavant-garde multimedia adaptationof Mozart’s opera, Don Giovanni.The show’s international produc-tion team, led by director DavidChambers of the Yale UniversitySchool of Drama, included NewZealand electronic composerMatthew Suttor, and starred therenowned avant-garde Czechsinger, actress, and violinist IvaBittova as the passionate DonnaElvira. Ms. Bittova (whose soundhas been compared to Bjork,Meredith Monk, and Laurie Anderson) was accompanied bythe Agon Orchestra of Prague.

Mozart’s original Don Giovanni was both commissionedin Prague and premiered there in1787. So it is not accidental that inthis reimagined version, the storytakes place in Prague, graffiti-sprayed architechture included.Another modernization to the production is stage design byDarcy Scanlin incorporating

digital images of Czech photogra-pher Jan Saudek’s female nudesprojected against an image of ruinsby architectural photographerRobert Polidori. Although theoriginal libretto by da Ponte andoriginal score by Mozart are hon-ored, the focus of the story hasshifted to the jilted Donna Elvira,who, much like Glenn Close’scharacter in the movie, Fatal Attraction, “will not be ignored.” Ms. Bittova’s mixture of Gypsyblood and classical training combine to produce a performanceso powerful that Mark Swed,music critic of the Los AngelesTimes wrote, “The brilliance ofthis production was the degree towhich it allows Bittova to be herself, and the wilder she was, thebetter. ...The ending was unforget-table. …It was a sound that needsto be heard again.”

Don Juan in Prague was supported by New York-basedCEC Artslink, dedicated to the exchange of arts and artists inthe United States with their counterparts in Central Europe,Russia, and Eurasia; the Strings of Autumn Festival in Prague; andthe Prague National Theater. Iva Bittova plays Donna Elvira in Don Juan in Prague

Photo courtesy of Mary E. Fetzko

Czech Personalities

Czech the News/Vol. 1, 200766

CTN: What was your upbring-ing like?PH: I was an only child, which Ihated and loved. It was the first ofmany ambivalences. My fatherwas married twice before. He hada daughter from each of those mar-riages, Jenny and Olga, my twohalf sisters. They were older andrather mythological to me becauseI rarely saw them and they lived infar-away places with strangenames like Pennsylvania andCzechoslovakia. My father was inhis late 40s (my age now) when hemet my mother who was intellec-tual, gorgeous, and young—still inher 20s. They fell in love, married,and moved from New York to NewJersey. Then I came along. Mymother did not know Czech. Shewas born in Leipzig. When shewas 3 her family left Germany forHolland. When she was 11 theycame to the U.S. So my parentsspoke English to each other. Con-sequently I never learned Czech.

CTN: What role did your father play in your upbring-ing and how did his being awriter affect you?PH: He played the role of the foreign-distant-and-aloof-writer-of-psycholo-gical-novels-in-Czech whodidn’t understand base-ball or rock-n-roll andspoke English with athick accent and wassmooth-skinned like

Jacob but older than Isaac andJacob put together; more of agrandfather than a father, becausehe was already very old and sickwhen I was still very young andexistential. But I do have a fewfond memories of going on walkswith him, holding his hand, kissinghim on the mouth, and hearing himspeak Czech into the telephonesaying at intervals, “Ano, ano,ano…”

I knew from an early age thatmy father was a famous writer. Iremember, when I was veryyoung, sitting in Graham Greene’slap in London—I don’t know howI got there, if I climbed up theremyself or if he lifted me up.Greene had recently reviewed oneof my father’s books (favorably).“A very famous writer,” mymother told me, “has invited us tohis London apartment for tea.” Iremember my father was nervousabout his English, and hopefulabout the possibility of help, per-haps with money or with work.And I remember three other thingsabout that day: the first is not beingable to read yet, though I knew

what books were and what a famous writer was; the second issitting on Graham Greene’s lapand not being able to reach thefloor with my toes; and the third istelling him matter-of-factly that Iknew a famous writer too, and thenpointing across the room at my father smiling nervously at me already at home in the big lap inLondon.

Even before I could read,books captured my attention andmy imagination, probably becausethere were so many of them in ourhouse. And since most of my fa-ther’s novels had been translatedinto many languages already, andsince we had multiplecopies of his books inmultiple languages—there must have beenhundreds altogether—there was this one roomwhere all the Hostovskybooks were kept (like ashrine) where I wouldgo and gaze with prideand wonder at all ofthose spines with myname on them. I re-member taking myfriends into that room full of HOS-TOVSKY and it never failed toimpress them, especially the bookstranslated into Japanese and Chi-nese. But, sadly, I never had theopportunity to discuss writing withmy father. When I was 12 he grewill and spent most of the next 2years in his bathrobe and slippers,in pain. He died when I was 14. Ihad only just begun to write.Though he wrote novels in Czechand I write poetry in English, I

would give anything to be able tosit down with him today and talkabout our shared and unsharedpassion for writing.

CTN: If you could ask your fa-ther one question about his writ-ing, what would it be?PH: I guess I'd ask him, was itworth it? Is the sublime self-cen-teredness of the artist worth thewreckage it leaves in its path, theresentments and lost relationshipsand empty spaces and lonelinessesfloating around in its wake? Inother words, the book may be bet-ter than the movie but is the bookbetter than the life, too?

CTN: How strong was youridentification with your father’sCzech nationality and howstrong a connection do you haveto the Czech Republic?PH: As I said, there were “Czechghosts”—overheard bits of phoneconversation in Czech; paintingson the walls by Sima, Janacek,Fremund, Lada; children’s booksby Jiri Trinka; on the phonograph Continued on page 7

American journalist Hodding Carter said “There are two lasting bequestswe can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.” The lifeodyssey of the celebrated Czech novelist Egon Hostovsky (1908–1973)

took him from his birthplace in the northeastern Bohemian town of Hronov, toPrague, Vienna, Brussels, Paris, Lisbon, New York, Oslo, and Denmark, beforehe eventually settled in the U.S. State of New Jersey. There he married and hada son, Paul. If New Jersey became the roots of the next Hostovsky generation,literature gave the boy wings.

Paul Hostovsky, an award-winning poet, was raised in the United States, exceptfor 2 years in Denmark, where Egon Hostovsky had distant relatives (his immediate family were all killed in the Holocaust). Paul remembers his American childhood as, “full of baseball and bullies, television and Motown,pretty girls, doomed crushes, salami sandwiches, and Czech ghosts.”

Now in his 40s, Paul Hostovsky has published three books of poetry. His poemshave appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines and his work has beennominated for the Pushcart Prize for poetry, one of the Nation’s most prestigiousliterary honors. Hostovsky lives near Boston and works as an interpretor forthe deaf. Recently he spoke with Czech the News.

Paul Hostovsky: Eating the World One Bite at a Time

Photo courtesy of Paul Hostovsky

Egon Host

ovsky, wife

Regina, a

nd

son Paul, c

irca 1968

Egon Hostovsky, son Paul, and wife Regina, circa 1960

Photo courtesy of Paul Hostovsky

Photo courtesy of Paul Hostovsky

Egon Hostovsky in Prague, circa 1938

Czech Personalities

77Czech the News/Vol. 1, 2007

Denial

When I was small I had this fear of bigdogs turning up round bends and corners, houndsthat all along the long and convoluted zig-zag way I walked home from school to confound themfound me—always. I had but one defensewhich I learned from Winnie the Pooh: simply huma little tune. It throws them off the scentof your fear. Pretend to consider the weather: tum ti tum.Denial, that old sweet song in the face of death.It’s always been the way to go, evenin the mouth of death—the jowls and drool and halitosis.Denial, perfected, is a faith that works. Take St. Stephenfull of arrows, take the Gnostics full of gnosis.We sang out sweetly who denied, though we breathed indog breath.

~ by Paul Hostovsky

Continued from page 6Smetana and Dvorak; and thatdiminutive “ek” suffix floatingaround in my childhood (Paulicek,pupicek); and occasional visitsfrom old men with funny nameslike Skvorecky, Voskovec, Liehm,Lustig, and others. But the gate-way to culture is language, and Ithink because my mother neverlearned the Czech language and Ididn’t acquire it growing up, theattendant Czech culture was inac-cessible to me. In fact, that’s theword that best describes how I feltabout my father: inaccessible.I do, nevertheless, feel a strongconnection to my Czech ancestry,and a wistful, rueful, sort of yearn-ing sensation comes over mewhenever I hear Czech being spo-ken. I have a fantasy of learningCzech, moving to Prague, fallingin love with a gorgeous, brilliant,Czech woman, and starting my lifeover…but it’s just a fantasy.

CTN: Do you go often to theCzech Republic?PH: I’ve been there twice. The firsttime was in 1979 with my mother.The Communists were in power sowe were watched closely becausemy mother was in touch with dis-sident Czech writers living in theStates and elsewhere through hersponsorship of the Egon Hos-tovsky Prize, given annually to adeserving Czech writer whoseworks were proscribed in Czecho-slovakia. This is what I remember

about that trip: I was 21 and lessinterested in the Castle than in thedoorknobs, which were mostlylevers instead of knobs; and thetoilets which were mostly not inthe bathrooms but in little roomsbeside the bathrooms; and the“pater noster” elevators which hadno doors or buttons and neverstopped so you had to leap in andleap out when they got to yourfloor; and the fact that things ingeneral seemed more substantial—the bread for instance, and thesoups, and the eyebrows of thegrandmothers, and the beauty ofthe women. All those beautifulyoung substantial Czech womenwho were headed, I suspected, notto the Castle or the Old JewishCemetery, but somewhere else I

knew I would not see, especiallywith my mother in tow. My second trip to Prague, 27 yearslater, was just a few weeks ago,and my impressions are still tooraw to put into words, except tosay that the bread and the beautyof the women remain as substan-tial as ever.

CTN: What is poetry to you andwhy do you write it?PH: Poetry is the kind of thing yousee from the corner of your eye.Like a star. It isn’t life itself, it’s aby-product of life, and if you lookat your life a certain way you will

see the poetry. If you look straightat it you can’t see it, but if you looka little to one side it is there. Apoem is a serious joke, a love af-fair with speech and its sounds,with words and their echoes.I write because I have to write. Totell you the truth, I would ratherbuild houses or play the oboe. ButI don’t know how to build housesor play the oboe. So I write poetry.Because I’m happiest when I’mwriting. Because I’m always think-ing of something else, something alittle off the point. I write poetrybecause I am eating the world onebite at a time.

Paul Hostovsky

Paul Hostovsky: Eating the World One Bite at a Time continued. . .

Photo courtesy of Paul Hostovsky

Cestmir Suska: Designs Inspired by Memories

In April 2007,Czech artist andsculptor Cest-

mir Suska willtravel to Washing-ton, DC, for a Meetthe Artist receptionat the Embassy of the Czech Republic to discuss his Vermontcollection of sculptures and printsthat will be on display at the Em-bassy from March 15 throughApril 12, 2007.

During a 3-month residencyat the Vermont Studio Center inJohnson, Vermont, in 2005, Suskaunleashed his ingenuity, learningto weld and use metal tanks as hiscanvas for creation. Previously hehad worked with burned clay,wood, bronze, stone, and glass,but, attracted by the convex andconcave shapes of the fuel tanks,he added welded iron to his list ofmastered materials. Visiting Ver-

mont junkyards to find discardedtanks ranging in size from 3 to 10feet, Suska hauled them to his stu-dio to create his new vision.

The designs for this collectionfind their inspiration in Suska’schildhood. The shapes representmotifs from his parents’ table-cloths, curtains, embroideries, andwallpaper. Using a plasma cutter,Suska transformed the tanks intosculptures, welding together theremaining parts to create perfectspheres and columns. He used thesmaller pieces that were removedduring the cutting process to createflat designs laid on the floor and togenerate large patterned prints onpaper. Suska also uses lightingprojected through his sculptures toreveal the dramatic play of lightand shadow that emanates fromwithin each sculpture.

In the past, Suska workedwith filmmaker M. Maumbruck

and musician P. Richter, foundingthe Art Theatre Kolotoc (Merry-Go-Round Theater) where theystaged a multimedia show inwhich objects and masks were onstage concurrently with a projectedfilm, slide show, acting, and music.Suska also has worked as a screen-writer, stage designer, actor, anddirector.

Cestmir Suska studied sculp-ture at the Academy of Art (AVU)in Prague, Czech Republic, andhas received scholarships from theVermont Studio Center (2005), theSculpture Space, Utica, New York(1998–1999), and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, New York(1995–1996).

Mr. Suska’s sculptures arecurrently on display on thegrounds of the Czech Embassy inWashington, DC. The exhibition ofhis prints will open at the Embassyon March 15, 2007.

Photo courtesy of Mary E. Fetzko

Cestmir Suska’s sculpture exhibited on the premises of the Czech Embassy

Photo courtesy of www.suska.cz

Cultural Preview

Czech the News/Vol.1, 200788

Lions of Czech FilmSeries at the Avalon Theatre

www.mzv.cz/washingtonQuestions: (202) 274–9105

January 10, 2007, 8 pmLoners

(Samotari)

February 13, 2007, 8 pmWild Bees

(Divoke vcely)

March 14, 2007, 8 pmYear of the Devil(Rok dabla)

April 11, 2007, 8 pmBrats(Smradi)

May 9, 2007, 8 pmOne Hand Can’t Clap(Jedna ruka netleska)

June 13, 2007, 8 pmReturn of the Idiot (Navrat idiota)

The Avalon Theatre is located at 5612 ConnecticutAvenue, NW, Washington,DC, 20015. Tickets may bepurchased at the box office30 minutes before the start ofthe show. Advance sales oftickets may be made at thebox office only. For moreinformation, call the box office at (202) 966–3464, orto hear general informationabout films playing at the Avalon, call (202) 966–6000.

The Embassy of the Czech Republic has partnered with the Avalon Theatre to present Lions of Czech Film. This new film series gives the Wash-ington, DC, community an opportunity to view Czech films that are popular hits in Europe and have received numerous honors and awards atfilm festivals, including the prestigious Czech Lion Award, the Czech equivalent of an Academy Award. All of the films have limited distribution

in the United States. The Lions of Czech Film series offers an invaluable opportunity to see the best of Czech cinema in the Nation’s capital. Specialguest Irena Kovarova, Independent Film Programmer and Representative of the Czech Film Center in North America, will open the series.

Film screenings will take place once a month, with six films scheduled from January through June 2007. Based on the success of the series,the Embassy of the Czech Republic will continue to bring topnotch films to the DC community at the Avalon Theatre. All films in the series are di-rected by some of the most interesting directors of the new generation in Czech filmmaking—Sasa Gedeon, Petr Zelenka, Bohdan Slama, DavidOndricek, and Zdenek Tyc. They include: Return of the Idiot, featuring a modern version of Dostoyevsky’s hero; Year of the Devil, dubbed by someas the Czech version of This is Spinal Tap; Wild Bees, the directorial debut of a promising newcomer; the blockbuster, Loners, and the director’ssubsequent feature, One Hand Can’t Clap; and Brats, the most socially conscious film in this group.

The Lions of Czech Film series kicked off with the screening of award-winning director David Ondricek’s film Loners (Samotari) on Wednesday, January 10, 2007.

Presentation of the initial six films is part of the Rare Bohemians touring series produced by New York-based Irena Kovarova in cooperationwith the Czech Film Center in Prague. Screening of these films is a virtually nonprofit endeavor designed to support the Czech Film Center’sactivities in North America, and by extension also Czech producers. By attending these screenings, viewers support Czech cinema and future filmmaking projects. Additional support was provided by Czech Centres. All films are in Czech with English subtitles.

Loners (Samotari)2000, 104 min.directed by David Ondricekscreenplay by Petr Zelenka

Set in present-day Prague, a group of pushing-30 adults remainstrapped behind the confines oftheir own egos. Comic overlap-ping stories reveal a dysfunctionalromance, misguided pursuits, andreckless obsession. The film was ahit in the Czech Republic with itscontemporary music and catchyphrases.

Lions of Czech Film Series Roars into Town at the Avalon Theatre

Wild Bees (Divoke vcely)2001, 94 min.direction and screenplay byBohdan Slama

A dark, satirical look inside aMoravian village yields a beehiveof trouble. Shy 18-year-old Kajalives with his grandmother andphilosophizing father. Kaja’s mainoccupation in life is secretly admiring the girl of his dreams:Bozka, a wild-child who runs ageneral store in the local village.When Kaja’s prodigal brother ar-rives from Prague for a visit, longstagnant relationships begin to stir.

Year of the Devil (Rok dabla)2002, 88 min.direction and screenplay by Petr Zelenka

A Czech folk star, a band of funeral musicians, and a Dutchfilmmaker stumble toward enlight-enment on a remarkable musicaltour. Writer/director Petr Zelenkafuses fact and fiction in a music-filled, magical adventure that hasghosts and guardian angels helpingpeople hear the melodies withinthem—while Jaz Coleman ofKilling Joke fame offers his ownbrand of enlightenment.

One Hand Can’t Clap(Jedna ruka netleska)2003, 100 min.directed by David Ondricek

Fate has been harsh to Standa whotook the fall for his boss andserved time in prison withoutmuch fuss—but now it is paybacktime. His former boss, Zdenek,owes him a considerable sum ofmoney, and Standa hopes it willhelp fulfill his dreams. Unfortu-nately, he doubles his bad luck bymeeting up with Ondrej, an evenbigger loony.

Return of the Idiot (Navrat idiota)1999, 99 min.direction and screenplay bySasa Gedeon

Drawing inspiration from the maincharacter of Dostoyevsky’s, “TheIdiot,” the film reveals a serio-comic, modern-day love story.Frantisek, recently released from a psychiatric hospital where he has spent most of his life, tries to assimilate into mainstream society. Through his innocence, heuncovers minor hypocrisies andlies contained in everyday dealingswith his new friends and family.

Brats (Smradi)2002, 96 min.directed by Zdenek Tyc

This simple tale provides a look atquestions of everyday intolerance,love, and family. Marek andMonika Sir leave Prague for thecountry. Their goal is to find a better environment for their twoadopted sons, both Romany(Gypsy) by birth, and better air fortheir own boy, an asthma sufferer.Their dream of a quiet and peace-ful existence soon vanishes whenan elderly neighbor accuses one oftheir adopted sons of breaking thewindshield of his car.

99Czech the News/Vol. 1, 2007

Classical Concertat the Embassy of theCzech Republic

Washington Musica VivaFebruary 27, 7:30 pmAdmission: $20

Washington Musica Vivacontinues its popular CzechMusic Series with trios byBedrich Smetana and Jo-hannes Brahms, BohuslavMartinu’s folk poetry Petrk-lic (Primrose) for twosingers, violin, and piano,plus clarinet works by LeosJanacek and Vaclav Nelhy-bel. Performers include so-prano Elizabeth Kluegel,mezzo soprano Karyn Fried-man, clarinetist Ben Red-wine, pianist Carl Banner,and National Symphony Orchestra members NatashaBogachek (violin), andDavid Teie (cello).

Upcoming Exhibitions at the Embassy of the Czech Republic

Opening: January 25, 7 pmNeighbors Who Disappeared

Czech children and youth (ages 12–21) created mixed-media panels reflecting on the history of the Nazi Holocaust as it affected their own cities and towns. The resulting collages combine text, drawings, paintings,contemporary and historical photographs, and facsimiles of historical documents. Curator Marie Zahradnikovawill present the exhibition, which runs until February 15, 2007.

Opening: February 22, 7 pmIt is Our Problem Too—The Women of the Prisonersof the Cuban Spring

Photographer Alexander Polo, in cooperation with People in Need (PIN) and the Center for a Free Cuba, hascreated a photo-documentary that examines the lives of the wives and mothers of the 75 Cuban dissidents, activists, writers, and librarians arrested and sentenced by the Castro regime in the spring of 2003. This photography exhibition combines photos and statements made by 23 women whose lives were affected whentheir husbands and sons were arrested in 2003. The exhibition runs until March 13.

On Display Beginning: March 15 Cestmir Suska’s Prints and Metal Sculpture

Cestmir Suska, a sculptor from the Czech Republic temporarily working in the United States, cuts designs in-spired by patterns from his childhood in his latest work consisting of large discarded metal containers that healtered using a plasma cutter. The shapes represent motifs from his parents’ tablecloths, curtains, embroideries,and wallpaper. Suska also fused together the small cut-out pieces from the finished works to represent the neg-ative space of the original work. This negative space is represented using large white paper as his canvas andbronze-colored paint to reveal the details. The works range in size from 3 feet to almost 10 feet and are featuredon the outdoor premises and in the main exhibition hall of the embassy. For more information about CestmirSuska, visit: www.suska.cz. The Suska exhibition runs from March 15 through April 12.

Please note: Exhibitions can be seen by appointment from Monday through Thursday (10 am–5 pm), and Fridays (10 am–3 pm). Call (202)274–9105 to schedule an exhibition viewing.

Embassy to Participate in 15th Annual Environmental Film Festival

received numerous awardsincluding: the Kodak Vision Audience Award(2005), Grand Prix ofEkofilm, and the AudienceAward and the Special JuryAward at the One World International Human RightsFestival.

The EnvironmentalFilm Festival in Washing-ton, DC, takes place fromMarch 15 through March 25,2007. Approximately 100 documentary, feature, animated,archival, experimental and chil-dren's films were selected to provide fresh perspectives on environmental issues affecting theplanet.

The Environmental Film Festival has become the leading showcase for environmental filmsin the United States. Presented incollaboration with over 50 local,national, and international organi-zations, the festival has becomeone of the largest cooperative

As part of the EnvironmentalFilm Festival, the Embassyof the Czech Republic will

feature the film Source (Zdroj) onMarch 21, 2007, at 7 pm, withguest documentary film directorMartin Marecek.

In the film, the director takesviewers to Baku in Azerbaijan, thesite of the world’s first oil well,which is once again becoming afocus for foreign investors eager toexploit the country’s vast oilriches. Source traces the pipelinefrom the commuter highways backto this surreal and sinister land-scape on which the Western way oflife depends, where cows graze on polluted land and children play intoxic grunge. With three quartersof the population living under the poverty line, the country’s post-Soviet government is promis-ing oil will turn Azerbaijan into a‘real country,’ a prosperous andflourishing ‘New Kuwait.’

The film premiered at the OneWorld Festival in Prague and has

Cultural Preview

cultural events in the Nation’s capital. Films are screened atnearly 40 venues throughout the city, including museums, embassies, libraries, universities,and local theaters. Most screeningsare free to the public and include a discussion with filmmakers orscientists.For a complete schedule, visit:www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org.For more information about thefilm being screened at the

Embassy of the Czech Republic, visit:www.automatfilm.cz.

Photo Courtesy of www.automatfilm.cz

Photo courtesy of www.zmizeli-sousede.cz

Photo courtesy of Peopl in Need

Photo courtesy of Mary E. Fetzko

Czech Republic

Czech the News/Vol.1, 20071010

Wine making, introducedinto Moravia duringRoman times, is cele-

brated annually at grape harvestingfestivals across wine producing re-gions of the Czech Republic. Dur-ing these festivals, local wineriesand wine cellars throw open theirdoors to tasters, minstrels and mu-sicians perform, townsfolk paradein native costume, theaters reenactscenes from history, and wineflows in abundance.

Now, Moravian wine makinghas yet another reason to celebrate.Nestled in the rolling hills ofBoretice in central Moravia, theStapleton-Springer Winery openedits doors in 2004 and launched itsfirst vintage that same year. Occu-pying an old viticultural farmsteadestablished 250 years ago duringthe reign of Marie Therese, theStapleton-Springer Winery is aCzech-American hybrid co-founded by Moravian vintnerJaroslav Springer and Americanbrothers Ben and Craig Stapleton.

Ambassador Craig Stapleton,current U.S. Ambassa-dor to France, servedas the U.S. representa-tive to the Czech Republic from 2001–2004. A great fan of Pinot Noir, Ambas-sador Stapleton famil-iarized himself with the Czechvariety during his ambassadorship.

Jaroslav Springer, then a vintner with a small winery, re-members how he first came toknow Ambassador Stapleton.

“One December morning I got acall from the U.S. Embassy inPrague. Ambassador Craig Staple-ton wanted to buy some 1999Pinot Noir from the Springer winery. We told him that the PinotNoir was only for members of theSpringer Club.”

Ambassador Stapleton madea trip to the Springer winery inBoretice. Together he and JaroslavSpringer toured the vineyards, heldlong talks, and proposed a toastover the Pinot Noir. Springer recalls, “It became clear that our

meeting was not achance one, and thatsome things just happen because theyare somehow orderedfrom on high.” And so it started. Ambassa-dor Stapleton’s brother

Ben, a member of the Pinot NoirClub of Greenwich, Connecticut,visited the Springer vineyard a few months later. From their first meeting, it was apparent that the Stapleton brothers and

Mr. Springer shared a greatenthusiasm for wine. Ben Staple-ton was so taken with Mr. Springer’s vintages that he invited Springer to bring some toNew York where Springer im-pressed New York wine importersand dealers. Combining their expertise and resources with a mutual love of wine making wasthe next logical step for the threemen.

Jaroslav Springer and hiswife, Kveta, manage the day today functioning of the Stapleton-Springer winerywhich includes30 hectares ofvineyards. Mr.Springer says,“A vintner’swork is work inthe countryside.We have been able to positivelyinfluence and beautify our vineyard,which is cultivated using ecologi-cal methods in harmony with thesurrounding ecosystem.” Whilethe winery’s oldest vines were

planted 35 years ago, Springer islooking forward to expanding, “Inthe near future, Stapleton-Springerwill plant a new vineyard in theexcellent locality called Terasy,with a variety of Pinot Noir formerly known in the Czech landsas Rouci.” In addition to its PinotNoir, the winery also offers severalother reds and whites includingSaint Laurent, Andre, Frankovka,Modry Portugal, and Pinot Gris.

As for the philosophy ofwinemaking, the Stapleton-Springer Winery has one goal: to

produce wine that will makepeople happy. Mr. Springersummarizes, “We have nowish to become part of any‘cult of wine.’ Still, we lovemaking wine, and we likethe people who taste and appreciate our wine.”

For more information on the Stapleton-Springer Winery

or to visit the winery, please go towww.stapleton-springer.cz/.

Stapleton-Springer Winery in Moravia

Jana Ticha, director of the KletObservatory in the Czech Re-public, announced in Decem-

ber 2006 that Czech astronomershad discovered an unknown aster-oid passing the Earth at a distanceof 600,000 kilometers (372,600miles), slightly greater than thatbetween the Earth and the Moon.

“This is one of the asteroids bypassing us ata very close distance thathas been discovered in Europe. A big majority ofsuch discoveries are made by large U.S.

observatories,” Ticha said.

The asteroid, designated in-ternationally as 2006 XR4, wasdiscovered moving at a very high

speed at its nearestpoint to the Earth. 2006XR4 belongs to therare Apollo type ornear-Earth asteroidswhose orbit criss-crosses the orbit of theEarth around the Sun.Due to their proximityto the Earth, someApollo type asteroidscan pose a threat to the planet. 2006XR4 measures approx-imately 20 meters(65.6 feet) in lengthand probably wouldnot inflict damage if it entered the Earth’s atmosphere as itwould most likely disintegrate intosmall fragments before impact.

“Monitoring even such small

Czech Astronomers Discover Unknown Asteroid

bodies enhances the knowledge ofthe structure of a whole populationof asteroids, including the calcula-

tion of their coming near the Earthand the probability of their crashesinto the Earth,” Ticha said.

Klet Observatory in the Czech Republic

Stapleton-Springer Winery in Moravia

Photo Courtesy of www.stapleton-springer.cz

Photo by Martin Setvak, Courtesy of Klet Observatory

www.stapleton-springer.cz www.stapleton-springer.cz

1111Czech the News/Vol. 1, 2007

In January 2007, AmericanFriends of the Czech Republic(AFoCR) published its first

title, Nicholas Winton’s Lottery ofLife. Written by film directorMatej Minac, the book already hasbeen published in Czech andGerman. AFoCR’s publication isthe first English-language editionof the story of the young English-man, Nicholas Winton, who saved669 Czechoslovak children fromNazi extermination before the outbreak of World War II.

Initial publication of the U.S.edition of Nicholas Winton’s Lottery of Life was made possibleby a seed grant from the Czech

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and bygenerous donors to AFoCR’sFriends of the Nicholas WintonEducational Project. Current funding allows for a first editionprinting of 7,000 copies. AFoCRplans to distribute Nicholas Winton’s Lottery of Life free ofcharge to American school systems for use in history, politicalscience, and Holocaust curricula.AFoCR estimates it will need atotal of 35,000 to 50,000 copies foroutreach to the U.S. educationalsystem. The first copy will be delivered to 98-year-old SirNicholas Winton who lives in England.

AFoCR Prints First Book Title

Symbolic of the close ties between Czechs and Ameri-cans, in 1960 the U.S.

Congress honored the first president of Czechoslovakia,Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, by placing his image on a Championof Liberty postage stamp. Then asnow, Masaryk represented the coredemocratic values at the heart ofthe American experience. Today,statues of Masaryk can be foundacross the United States in NewYork, San Francisco’s GoldenGate Park, and Washington, DC,among several notable venues. Butfew know the story of the “Califor-nia Masaryk,” a life-sized bronzestatue, whose travels would take itfrom the National Gallery inPrague to California andbeyond.

The “CaliforniaMasaryk,” cast in Praguein the 1930s, was boughtby Czech businessmanVaclav Ilk at the outbreakof World War II. In 1939,desperate for raw metalsand fighting against the values Masaryk represented, the Nazi’s ordered the statue destroyed. Instead, Mr. Ilk meltedthe equivalent amount of bronzeand gave the material to the authorities. Meanwhile, he buriedthe 600-pound statue in the gardenof his villa outside of Prague. Toprotect it, and him—the penaltyfor hiding such contraband wasdeath—Ilk had the statue movedthree times between gardens andcellars. When the war ended, Mr.Ilk dug up and cleaned the statue.He intended to donate it as a monument for the square in Uhrineves, a town 15 miles fromPrague where Ilk owned a factory.

But in 1948, Mr. Ilk was jailed asan enemy of the Communist Partyand the statue was confiscated.

Eventually, Vaclav Ilk was released from jail. During therelatively liberal regime ofAlexandr Dubcek, he read in thenewspaper that his Masaryk statuewas residing in the courtyard ofPrague’s National Gallery. After alengthy legal exchange, the statuewas returned to Ilk’s wife whoeventually launched it on its slowsea journey to California. From1978 until 2000, a garage in Monterey owned by Ilk’s daughterand son-in-law, Anna and JiriJilich, served as the home of theMasaryk statue where it laymummy-like in a large wooden

crate.In 1999, Mr. Jilich, thenin his late 80s, was relo-cating permanently tothe Czech Republic andneeded to find a homefor the Masaryk bronze.At that time, the existence of the “Califor-nia Masaryk” was re-

ported to Alexandr Vondra, thenCzech Ambassador to the UnitedStates, and it sparked the idea ofplacing a Masaryk statue in Wash-ington, DC. Meanwhile theHoover Institute at Stanford University was considering ac-cepting the statue. But while theInstitute’s management assessedthe statue’s potential presence to be “quite political,” Mr. Jilichdonated it to the National Czechand Slovak Museum and Libraryin Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where itcan be seen today.

American Friends of theCzech Republic quickly began thetask of erecting a statue of the first

president of Czechoslovakia—aman with deep democratic, humanitarian, and family ties toAmerica—in Washington, DC. InSeptember 2002, a 12-foot bronzeof Masaryk was unveiled on Massachusetts Avenue in down-town Washington. Perhaps the“California Masaryk,” now in theU.S. heartland, sees his bronzebrother in America’s capital as awonderful end to a lengthy jour-ney.

Guest Writer: Richard Pivnicka

Honorary Consul General of the Czech Republic

San Francisco/Silicon Valley(JoAnn M. Cooper

contributed to this article)

The “California Masaryk”

Masaryk Statue in the courtyard of the Prague National Gallery, circa 1950

For information on how to contribute to the Winton Educa-tional Project please contactAFoCR Vice President Mr. PeterRafaeli at (215) 646–7777

or by e-mail atcz.consul.phl@juno.com.

Czech Fun Facts

Months of the YearCzech names for the calen-dar months are differentfrom the month names inother Indo-European lan-guages. Each of the monthnames indicates its weathercharacteristics. In January(leden) there is often ice(led); in May (kveten) flow-ers bloom (kvet); and August(srpen) is named after thesickle (srp) used for reapinggrains.

Charles UniversityCharles University in Pragueis the oldest university inCentral Europe. EstablishedApril 7, 1348, today it is at-tended by 42,000 students.

First Theater LightedIncandescentlyThe first theater in the worldto be electrically lit was theMunicipal Theater in Brno,today known as the MahenTheater (Mahenovo Di-vadlo). The theater waswired in 1882 according toplans by Thomas Edison,who was onsite to help withthe installation. For more funfacts, visit www.czech.cz.

Czechs in America

Photo courtesy of Richard Pivnicka

Photo courtesy of Peter Rafaeli

www.1847usa.com

Announcements

CZECHtthheeNews Newsletter of the Embassy of the Czech Republic NewsEmbassy of the Czech Republic3900 Spring of Freedom Street, NWWashington, DC 20008Tel.: (202) 274–9100 Fax: (202) 966–8540www.mzv.cz/washingtonManaging Editor: JoAnn M. CooperArt Director: Mary FetzkoWriters: JoAnn M. Cooper and Mary FetzkoCirculation: Romana Lesakova

Upcoming 2007 Czech Events in the U.S.

Jan. 16–Feb. 25Orlando, FLGargoyles and Grotesques byWalter Arnold opens at theAlbin Polasek Museum's EastGallery. For more information,please call: (407) 647–6294.

Jan. 18–20Seattle, WACornish College of the Artspresents the Erwin SchulhoffFestival. For more information,write to: srathkopf@cornish.edu.

Jan. 25–Feb. 11New York, NYCzechoslovak-American Mari-onette Theatre performs “OnceThere Was a Village.” Formore information, please visitwww.lamama.org.

Feb. 10McLean, VASokol Washington, DC, presentsthe Sibrinky-Fasiangy Ball.For more information, pleasevisit: www.sokolwashington.org.

Feb. 17New Bedford, PA29th Baca Cup downhill ski raceand party. For more info, contact:CWFletcher@mris.com

Feb. 17–18Cedar Rapids, IAThe National Czech and SlovakMuseum and Library, in their series exploring Czech and Slovak Cinema, features “AndyWarhol: A Documentary Film.”For more information, pleasecontact: Jan@NCSML.org

March 1, 15, 22, 29Cedar Rapids, IAProfessor Dennis Barnett pres-ents the seminar “Theatre, Revo-lution and the Dissolution of TwoCountries,” at Coe College. Formore information, call Kate Roseat (319) 399–8561.

March 2007Baltimore, MDThe Baltimore Opera Companywill present The Bartered Bride.For more information, visit: www.baltimoreopera.com

March 16New York, NYIvan Moravec makes a welcomereturn to the Metropolitan Mu-seum with a program includingMozart and Chopin at 8 pm.For more information, visit:www.metmuseum.org

Contact UsCzech the News is always look-ing for story and article ideas,cultural events listings, andother pertinent information rel-evant to enhancing Czech-U.S.relations and to informing thegeneral public and the CzechAmerican community about theCzech experience in the UnitedStates. For more information orto submit newsletter content orinformation, please use the following contacts:

Story/article content: JoAnn M. Cooper at

jcooper@linguabohemia.com

Cultural/events listings: Mary Fetzko at

czech_events@yahoo.com

Circulation/subscriptionqueries: Romana Lesakova atctn_washington@mzv.cz