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Exactly 70 years ago hundreds of mostly Jewish Czechoslovak children were saved from their eminent deaths in Nazi concentration camps. All of them and their descendants owe their lives to one man, a Briton named Sir Nicholas Winton, who organized the Winton Train rescue mission from the Czech Republic to Great Britain. Winton, who just recently celebrated his 100th birthday, did not speak about his heroic act for 50 years. Thanks to his wife, the rest of the world could learn about the rail “Czech Kindertransports” that he organized at the outbreak of World War II in 1939. The steam train transport reenactment, with some of the now-elderly “Winton children”, brought lots of emotions and awareness to the rest of the world and reminded everybody that even one person’s heroic act can have a great impact on the lives of many others. Read the rest of this entry (Čtětě více ZDE) »

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Today Slovakia commemorated another anniversary of the adoption of its Constitution. This binding document was adopted by the Slovak parliament on September 1st, 1992 to establish the independent Slovak Republic. The Czechoslovak Federation was subsequently disbanded on January 1st, 1993. This important day in the Slovak calendar was celebrated in many ways. You could see folklore dances, listen to traditional songs, tour the National Council of the Slovak Republic (the parliament) or the Bratislava castle, or enjoy the evening concert featuring the bands Desmond and Kalinka. The day was concluded by the ceremonial lighting of the Bratislava Castle. Read the rest of this entry (Čtětě více ZDE) »

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The number of people with deep national values and knowledge of Czech and Slovak history over the last half century is shrinking. One of the people that fell in this small margin of the Czech and Slovak population just passed away. Jakub Cermin (May 2nd, 1917 – August 27th, 2009), the former head of the Freedom Fighters, could really say a lot about his life experiences. As a matter of fact, he wrote hundreds of articles reflecting his memories, feelings, views, and hopes about our nation. His blindness, towards the end of his life, however, did not stop him as he still continued in sacrificing his life and dignity for our liberty until his passing. Read the rest of this entry (Čtětě více ZDE) »

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Recently, we have been watching message threads by a Slovak student living in the USA. He was trying to locate a store that was selling poppy seeds. “Why would somebody desperately search for poppy seeds that we can find everywhere?” we asked ourselves. Well, today we know and would like to share it with you along with our great discovery of simple and easy to follow recipes from a website that offers weekly Slovak recipes with ingredients that can be purchased in the USA. The site also includes a recipe for plum dumplings, which were discussed in one of our earlier posts; thus, now you can see their preparation with all the necessary details. Read the rest of this entry (Čtětě více ZDE) »

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Today, like every year, Czechs and Slovaks commemorate the infamous anniversary of the invasion of Czechoslovakia. On that day the former liberator put an end to Dubcek’s effort to build “socialism with a human face.” The invasion reflected the disapproval of the rebirth of social and political freedom known as “Prague Spring.” On the night of August 20 to 21, 1968, the country was invaded by five Warsaw Pact countries. On that day the Prague Spring ended and was followed by the cold “Brezhnev’s Doctrine” that brought a new chill to the Cold War. The “Détente” was over. Read the rest of this entry (Čtětě více ZDE) »

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A unique Czech festival emphasizing the Czech culture just took place in Saint Helena, Banat in Romania. About six months ago you may have read about the Czech villages in Banat and their citizens that managed to preserve their culture and language for more than 180 years. The community, consisting of almost 2,000 Czechs, is somewhat special because it offers visitors the opportunity to see what the Czech villages used to look like. The Czech Republic is changing and its towns and villages transformed thanks to new technology and modern transportation. On the other hand, time in the villages in Banat has stood still and this year’s festival again showed how folklore traditions are still passed from one generation to the next.

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Author: Josef Čermák (CzechFolks.com PLUS)

Approximately 110km north of Toronto lies a small town of Edenvale and just a little further, you come to the Edenvale Aerodrome, an airport built by a Czeh refugee, Milan Kroupa. The aerodrome rests in the middle of a fruitful plane, even though possibly not as fruitful as the “fertile Haná”, so worshipfully described by a Czech poet whose name my aged brain refuses to surrender. During the second world war, this place was used by the Canadian air force to train its pilots. After the war, the place kept deteriorating until it was purchased, in 2003, by Milan Kroupa, who hails from a little village not far from a town of Nové Strašecí. Kroupa came to Canada as a political refugee in the middle of the sixties. And because he was an entrepreneurial wizard, he built up in this place (as well as putting together the largest janitorial company in Canada) a modern airport. It is this airport where on August 23rd, 2009 we shall reminiscence about the night of August 21, 1968, when frightened rulers in Moscow tried to stop the march of history and sent their army, with the armies of their vassals, to another brotherly vassal state, Czechoslovakia, to eradicate the potentially infectious decease called “socialisms with a human face”. Read the rest of this entry (Čtětě více ZDE) »

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Do not worry; this article is not about destroying delicate instruments to make high class furniture. It explains the recent change in a company’s goal to overcome the current economic crisis. Petrof, a major piano factory in Hradec Kralove switched a portion of its piano production to furniture design and manufacturing. The company has a long history in piano making. It not only survived two world wars, but also 40 years of the communist regime. Today it is dealing with another challenge and it is once again using creative new business models to overcome it. Read the rest of this entry (Čtětě více ZDE) »

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Collapsing Eiffel Tower or a Paris Rooftop scene? If you watched G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, you could see just that and more. Even though the set looked like it was located in Paris and other geographical locations, it was actually carefully designed in Prague. The motion picture is just another movie that was filmed in the Czech Republic, but one of the characters was played by the Czech supermodel and actress Karolina Kurkova, who is now expecting her first child with her fiancé Archie Drury. Many Czechs and Slovaks may not be familiar with this “Real American Hero” that has such long history in the American culture. Why the Czech Republic and who is G.I. Joe then? We will try to answer these questions and show you some interesting videos from behind the scenes and from the past of this action figure. Read the rest of this entry (Čtětě více ZDE) »

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“Czech and Slovak Americans: International Perspectives from the Great Plains,” is the theme for an international conference planned by the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The conference on April 7-10th at the Nebraska Union will examine Czech and Slovak immigrants and their descendants in the North American Great Plains region; their relationships with other Czech- and Slovak-Americans, and with Czechs and Slovaks in Europe and other parts of the world. Keynote addresses will be presented by Toni Brendel, author of “Slovak American Touches;” Martin Mejstrik, a pivotal student leader in the “Velvet Revolution” and former senator in the Parliament of the Czech Republic; Daniel E. Miller, professor of history, University of West Florida; Martin Palous, Czech Republic permanent representative to the United Nations; and Milada Polisenska, vice president for educational development and chair of the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at the New Anglo-American College in Prague. Read the rest of this entry (Čtětě více ZDE) »

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Last week a new 2009 Miss Czech Slovak US Queen was crowned during the Wilber Czech Festival held in Wilber, NE. This yearly event plays an important role in our Czech and Slovak community in the USA. It allows all Czechs and Slovaks to get involved in introducing our heritage to others. CzechFolks.com strongly believes in community involvement and holding on to our heritage. That is why we became a sponsor of the new award called the Heritage Involvement Award that focuses on the contestant’s involvement in Czech/Slovak events/activities etc. We are preparing an interview with the new 2009 Miss Czech Slovak US Queen, Brianna Tichy, and Tanya Jech, the recipient of the Heritage Involvement Award and you will be able to read about them soon, as well as about what it takes to organize such an event.

Today, we would like to show you a small sneak peak into the pageant. Read the rest of this entry (Čtětě více ZDE) »

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Who would guess that an ordinary soccer (US)/football match in Zilina, Slovakia, would catch our attention? It is probably because it was not that ordinary. Some sources called it the biggest crackdown by security forces in the history of Slovak football. The violent act happened on the last day of July and it involved the local police, but also its residents, neighboring businesses, Foreign Affair Ministers and Slovak tourists vacationing or living in Croatia.

The disturbance took place before the UEFA Europa League third preliminary-round match between home side MSK Zilina and the Croatian team Hajduk Split. The Croat fans were not allowed to enter the stadium because they had been banned from two European away games. They were involved in skirmishes in the town, where they threatened local citizens, attacked police officers and damaged local stores and other businesses on their way to the stadium. Read the rest of this entry (Čtětě více ZDE) »