Spartakiads : the politics of physical culture in Communist Czechoslovakia / Petr Roubal.

Spartakiads : the politics of physical culture in Communist Czechoslovakia / Petr Roubal.

9788024638515
9788024643663 (e-book)

Czech Republic : Karolinum Press, [2019]

©2019

English

In Czech and English.

1 online resource (425 pages).

GV461 .R683 2019

796.41

Every five years from 1955 to 1985, mass Czechoslovak gymnastic demonstrations and sporting parades called Spartakiads were held to mark the 1945 liberation of Czechoslovakia. Involving hundreds of thousands of male and female performers of all ages and held in the world's largest stadium-a space built expressly for this purpose-the synchronized and unified movements of the Czech citizenry embodied, quite literally, the idealized Socialist people: a powerful yet pliant force directed by the regime. This book explores the political, social, and aesthetic dimensions of these mass physical demonstrations, with a particular focus on their roots in the völkisch nationalism of the German Turner movement and the Czech Sokol gymnastic tradition. Featuring an abundance of photographs, Spartakiads takes a new approach to Communist history by opening a window onto the mentality and mundanity behind the Iron Curtain.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Access limited to authorized users.

Description based on print version record.

Václav Havel series.

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