Celebrating the Czechoslovak atom: from ‘Atoms for Peace’ to Expo 58

ABSTRACT

The Czechoslovak-Soviet exhibition ‘Atoms for Peace’ was held in Prague and Bratislava in 1956. This exhibition became a symbol of Czechoslovak-Soviet ‘friendship’ and Soviet influence on the Czechoslovak nuclear programme. At the Brussels World’s Fair in 1958 (Expo 58), one of the most popular Czechoslovak exhibits was the betatron, which would become a symbol of Czechoslovak nuclear pride. The article analyzes the planning, creation and reception of these two exhibitions, as well as the popular image of the Czechoslovak betatron in the Czechoslovak press and literature of that time. It shows how, in Czechoslovakia, the paradigm of Czechoslovak-Soviet friendship and Soviet dominance converged and became entangled with the effort to present Czechoslovakia as an industrially developed country capable of building the nation’s nuclear industry (partly) on its own. One of the results of this entanglement was the betatron – a highly successful and celebrated Czechoslovak nuclear exhibit that captivated both domestic and international audiences.

KEYWORDS:

• Czechoslovakia
• Soviet Union
• nuclear energy
• exhibitions
• betatron

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Ludvík Aškenazy, ‘Betatron', Československý voják, 4 January 1958, p. 6.

2 For the postwar history of Czechoslovakia, see: Kevin McDermott, Communist Czechoslovakia, 1945–89: A Political and Social History (London: Palgrave, 2015) and Vít Smetana, ‘Concessions or Conviction? Czechoslovakia’s Road to the Cold War and the Soviet Bloc', in Imposing, Maintaining, and Tearing Open the Iron Curtain: The Cold War and East-Central Europe, 1945–1989, ed. by Mark Kramer and Vít Smetana (Lanham, MD; Plymouth, UK: Lexington Books, 2014), pp. 55–86.

3 See Michaela Šmidrkalová, ‘Atoms for Socialism: The Birth of a Czechoslovak-Soviet Nuclear Utopia', Journal of Cold War Studies [in press].

4 Ibid; for the history of the Czechoslovak-Soviet friendship see Rachel Applebaum, Empire of Friends: Soviet Power and Socialist Internationalism in Cold War Czechoslovakia (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2019).

5 Jan Novotný, ‘Výstavy – pomoc pokroku’ [Exhibitions – Assistance to Progress], Tvar, 10 (1959), 163–71 (p. 164). See Daniela Kramerová and Vanda Skálová, ‘Výstavnictví v Československu – experiment a poezie, obchod i propaganda’ [Exhibition Management in Czechoslovakia – Experiment, Poetry, Business, and Propaganda], in Bruselský sen: československá účast na světové výstavě Expo 58 v Bruselu a životní styl 1. poloviny 60. let, ed. by Vít Havránek et al. (Prague: Arbor vitae, 2008), pp. 188–99 (p. 193).

6 For the Sovietization of Central and Eastern Europe after the Second World War see, for example, John Connelly, Captive University: The Sovietization of East German, Czech, and Polish Higher Education, 1945–1956 (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2000); Balász Apor, Péter Apor and E. A. Rees, The Sovietization of Eastern Europe: New Perspectives on the Postwar Period (Washington, DC: New Academia Publishing, 2008); Austin Jersild, ‘The Soviet State as Imperial Scavenger: “Catch Up and Surpass” in the Transnational Socialist Bloc, 1950–1960', The American Historical Review, 116 (2011), 109–32; Mark Kramer, ‘Stalin, Soviet Policy, and the Establishment of a Communist Bloc in Eastern Europe, 1941–1949', in Imposing, Maintaining, and Tearing Open the Iron Curtain, ed. by Kramer and Smetana, pp. 3–37; Rober L. Hutchings, Soviet-East European Relations. Consolidation & Conflict (Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1987).

7 The Czech industrial tradition dates back to the 19th century. Around two-thirds of the industry of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was concentrated in the Czech lands. See, for example, Jindřich Dejmek et al., Československo: dějiny státu [Czechoslovakia: History of the State] (Prague: Libri, 2018), p. 29. Czechoslovakia also had a significant tradition in the field of radiochemistry – the Research Institute of Radiology was founded in Prague in 1923.

8 See Emilie Benešová and Karolína Šimůnková, Expo '58: příběh československé účasti na Světové výstavě v Bruselu [Expo 58: The Story of Czechoslovak Participation at the Brussels World’s Fair] (Prague: Národní archiv, 2008); Vít Havránek et al., Bruselský sen: československá účast na světové výstavě Expo 58 v Bruselu a životní styl 1. poloviny 60. let [The Brussels Dream: The Czechoslovak Presence at Expo 58 in Brussels and the Lifestyle of the Early 1960s] (Prague: Arbor vitae, 2008); Cathleen M. Guistino, ‘Industrial Design and the Czechoslovak Pavilion at Expo '58: Artistic Autonomy, Party Control and Cold War Common Ground', Journal of Contemporary History, 47 (2012), 185–212.

9 In Czechoslovakia, the term ‘Atoms for Peace’ was used to refer to the programme for the peaceful uses of atomic energy in general and Czechoslovak authors associated it with the policy of the Soviet Union, rather than with the American programme initiated by president Dwight Eisenhower (which was barely discussed in Czechoslovakia).

10 Josef Rubin, ‘Atomy v míru’ [Atoms in Peace], Květy, 14 June 1956, p. 8.

11 Prague, National Archives of the Czech Republic (NA CR), Coll. Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (CC CPC), Politburo 1954–1962, box 76, arch. unit 93, item 9, Výstava o mírovém využití atomové energie se sovětskou exposicí ze Ženevy [Exhibition on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy with the Soviet Exposition from Geneva], p. 1.

12 Rubin, pp. 8–9.

13 ‘Zahájení sovětsko-československé výstavy “Atomy pro mír”’ [Opening of the Czechoslovak-Soviet Exhibition ‘Atoms for Peace'], Práce, 8 May 1956, p. 1.

14 NA CR, Coll. CC CPC, Secretariat 1954–1962, box 83, arch. unit 79, item 3, Návrh na využití poznatků a materiálů ze zasedání Akademie věd SSSR ve dnech 1.–5. 7. v Moskvě a mezinárodní konference o mírovém využití atomové energie v Ženevě ve dnech 8.–20. 8. [Proposal for Application of Findings and Materials from the Meeting of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR 1–5 July in Moscow and the International Conference for Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in Geneva 8–20 August], p. 1.

15 Prague, Prague City Archives (PCA), Odbor kultury NVP, 1956, inv. no. 822.

16 Ibid.

17 NA CR, Coll. CC CPC, Politburo 1954–1962, box 76, arch. unit 93, item 9, Zpráva o postupu příprav výstavy o mírovém využití atomové energie [Report on the Progress of Preparations for the Exhibition about the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy], p. 5–6. The fact that the Soviet exposition from Geneva was first exhibited in India was not accidental. The year 1955 was the peak of the Soviet-Indian rapprochement that had begun after Stalin’s death in 1953. In June 1955, Jawaharlal Nehru visited the Soviet Union and in November and December of the same year, Nikita Khruschev and Nikolai Bulganin stayed in India for three weeks. Among other things, the Soviet-Indian rapprochement was manifested in the field of exhibitions: an exhibition of Indian art and culture opened in Moscow in October 1955, followed by an exhibition of Indian handloom and handicraft products a month later. J. A. Naik, Soviet Policy Towards India. From Stalin to Brezhnev (Delhi: Vikas Publications, 1970), p. 88.

18 ‘První exponáty ze SSSR na výstavu Atomy pro mír’ [First Exhibits from the USSR for the Exhibition Atoms for Peace], Práce, 18 April 1956, p. 1.

19 The Czechoslovak Society for the Dissemination of Political and Scientific Knowledge, often known as the ‘the society with the long name', was founded in 1952 and inspired by the Soviet All-Union Society for the Dissemination of Political and Scientific Knowledge. This society, which focused particularly on popular education for the ‘working people', played a crucial role in the popularization of science in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s. In 1954, it organized more than 26,000 lectures, which 1.7 million people attended. Doubravka Olšáková, Věda jde k lidu! Československá společnost pro šíření politických a vědeckých znalostí a popularizace věd v Československu ve 20. století [Science Goes to the People! Czechoslovak Society for the Dissemination of Political and Scientific Knowledge and Popularization of Sciences in Czechoslovakia during the 20th Century] (Prague: Academia, 2014), p. 110.

20 The Czechoslovak Committee of Defenders of Peace was a leading organisation of the Czechoslovak peace movement that cooperated with the World Peace Council. The Committee was established in July 1949 after the meeting of the World Congress of Defenders of Peace that was held simultaneously in Paris and Prague. The official tasks of the Committee were to support the peaceful politics of the Czechoslovak government, to organize campaigns for the defence of peace and to cooperate with international peace organisations and participate at international peace congresses and conferences. The Committee consisted of delegates from Czechoslovak organisations, cultural institutions and eminent representatives of Czechoslovak political, economic and cultural life. Vladimír Krechler, ed. et al., Příruční slovník k dějinám KSČ [Handbook of History of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia], Vol. 1, A-O (Prague: NPL, 1964), pp. 111–12.

21 NA CR, Coll. CC CPC, Politburo 1954–1962, box 76, arch. unit 93, item 9, Připomínky IV. oddělení ÚV KSČ ke zprávě o uspořádání výstavy o mírovém využití atomové energie se sovětskou exposicí ze Ženevy [Comments on the Report on the Organisation of the Exhibition about the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy with the Soviet Exposition from Geneva], 1; In the 1950s, the peace movement emerged in Czechoslovakia. In its campaigns, it criticized the remilitarization of (West) Germany and the nuclear armaments of Western countries. The Stockholm Appeal, calling for an absolute ban on nuclear weapons, launched by the World Peace Council in March 1950, was signed by 9.5 million people in Czechoslovakia. Vladimír Novák, Abeceda mírového hnutí [Alphabet of the Peace Movement] (Prague: Horizont, 1988), p. 205.

22 ‘Zahájení sovětsko-československé výstavy Atomy pro mír', p. 1.

23 ‘Delegáti konference na výstavě “Atomy pro mír”’ [Delegates of the Conference in the Exhibition ‘Atoms for Peace'], Práce, 12 June 1956, p. 7.

24 ‘Výstava “Atomy pro mír” v Bratislavě’ [Exhibition ‘Atoms for Peace’ in Bratislava], Práce, 8 July 1956, p. 4; See also the Slovak Newsreel Týždeň vo filme [A Week in the Film], 30/1956 (directed by Štefan Ondrkal).

25 NA CR, Coll. CC CPC, Politburo 1954–1962, box 76, arch. unit 93, item 9, Zpráva o postupu příprav výstavy o mírovém využití atomové energie, p. 6.

26 Rubin, p. 9.

27 Ibid., p. 8.

28 NA CR, Coll. CC CPC, Politburo 1954–1962, box 76, arch. unit 93, item 9, Návrh výstavy o mírovém využití atomové energie v Praze se sovětskou exposicí ze Ženevy [Proposal of the Exhibition on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in Prague with the Soviet Exposition from Geneva], p. 6.

29 Rubin, p. 8.

30 Ibid.

31 ‘Nepřemožitelná síla atomu’ [The Invincible Force of the Atom], Práce, 9 May 1956, p. 8.

32 NA CR, Coll. CC CPC, Politburo 1954–1962, box 76, arch. unit 93, item 9, Návrh výstavy o mírovém využití atomové energie v Praze se sovětskou exposicí ze Ženevy, p. 6.

33 Ibid.

34 ‘Zahájení sovětsko-československé výstavy Atomy pro mír', p. 1.

35 ‘Výstava “Atomy pro mír” v Bratislavě skončila’ [The Exhibition ‘Atoms for Peace’ in Bratislava Ended], Práce, 31 July 1956, p. 8.

36 NA CR, Coll. CC CPC, Politburo 1954–1962, box 76, arch. unit 93, item 9, Návrh výstavy o mírovém využití atomové energie v Praze se sovětskou exposicí ze Ženevy, p. 3.

37 Ibid., p. 4.

38 ‘Velký zájem o atomovou elektrárnu’ [Big Interest in the Atomic Power Plant], Práce, 13 May 1956, p. 1.

39 ‘Zvláštne zájazdové vlaky na výstavu “Atómy pre mier”’ [Special Excursion Trains to the Exhibition ‘Atoms for Peace'], Pravda (Bratislava), 8 July 1956, p. 2.

40 PCA, Odbor kultury NVP, 1956, inv. no. 822.

41 Československý rozhlas a televise, 14 May 1956, p. 11.

42 Československý rozhlas a televise, 18 June 1956, p. 13. ‘Ladies’ Half Hour’ was a regular programme of Czechoslovak Radio that was broadcast every day except Sunday. The programme focused on ‘women’s’ issues, such as child rearing and managing the household. However, some episodes also dealt with political and ideological topics. See Eva Ješutová et al., Od mikrofonu k posluchačům: z osmi desetiletí českého rozhlasu [From microphone to listeners: from eight decades of Czech radio] (Prague: Český rozhlas, 2003), p. 264. The title of the aforementioned programme about the ‘Atoms for Peace’ exhibition emphasized the fact that it was women presenting the exhibition, presumably because it was part of this ‘women’s’ programme.

43 ‘Pořad rozhlasu a televise’ [Programme of Radio and Television], Práce, 29 May 1956, p. 5

44 See Květa Legátová (Věra Podhorná), Postavičky [Little Figures] (Brno: Krajské nakladatelství, 1957), p. 110.

45 Eliaš Katz, ‘Za život. Novoročné posolstvo k veriacim’ [For Life. New Year’s Message to the Faithful], Věstník Židovských náboženských obcí v Československu, 18, no. 9 (1956), 4–5.

46 Ibid.

47 Jan Tůma, ‘Od uhlí k atomu’ [From Coal to the Atom], Věda a život, no. 2 (1960), 109–10.

48 J. Fuksa, ‘“Atom pro mír” v Národním technickém muzeu’ [‘Atom for Peace’ in the National Technical Museum], Jaderná energie, 12, no. 2 (1966), p. 78; Sborník Národního technického muzea v Praze: Činnost v uplynulém desetiletí 1969–1978 [Almanach of the National Technical Museum in Prague: Activities in the Last Decade] (Prague: Národní technické muzeum, 1978), p. 120.

49 ‘M. Jakeš na výstavě Atom pro mír’ [M. Jakeš in the Exhibition Atom for Peace], Rudé právo, 15 April 1985, p. 2.

50 ‘Výstava Atom pro mír v Bratislavě’ [Exhibition Atom for Peace in Bratislava], Rudé právo, 9 February 1966, p. 6; ‘Atom pro mír’ [Atom for Peace], Rudé právo, 4 April 1985, p. 2.

51 See, for example Josef Jedlička, ‘Vědeckotechnická událost mimořádného významu’ [Scientific-Technological Event of Extraordinary Significance], Tribuna, 20 October 1971, p. 9. Both this exhibition and ‘Days of Soviet Science and Technology’, within which it was held, were made visible primarily as a result of state (and Communist Party) support. Events of this kind were intended to show the strength of Czechoslovak-Soviet friendship and the achievements of Soviet science. In the early 1970s, not long after the suppression of the Prague Spring and the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact countries in August 1968, efforts to promote the Soviet Union in the public space were one of the most important goals of official Czechoslovak propaganda.

52 COMECON (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, CMEA) coordinated the economic development of the Central and Eastern European countries of the Soviet bloc. COMECON was established in January 1949 and Czechoslovakia was one of its founding members.

53 Masaryk Institute and Archives of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Coll. Collegium of the Nuclear Research, box 13, inv. number 81.

54 V. Mikhailin, ‘Ten years of the “Atoms for Peace” exposition', Soviet Atomic Energy, 21 (1966), 881–83 (p. 881).

55 Usnesení vlády č. 2997 ze dne 26. října 1955 [Resolution of the Government No. 2997 from 26 October 1955] (Document No. 76), in: Benešová and Šimůnková, p. 45.

56 Susan E. Reid, ‘The Soviet Pavilion at Brussels '58: Convergence, Conversion, Critical Assimilation or Acculturation', CWIHP Working Paper, 62 (2010), p. 16 <https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/publication/WP62_Reid_web_V3sm.pdf> [accessed 12 April 2021].

57 Jindřich Santar, EXPO 58: světová výstava v Bruselu [EXPO 58: World’s Fair in Brussels] (Prague: SNKLU, 1961), p. 214.

58 Daniela Kramerová and Vanda Skálová, ‘Realita bruselského snu’ [Reality of the Brussels Dream], in Bruselský sen, ed. by Havránek et al., pp. 14–87 (p. 32).

59 Milena Bartlová et al., Budování státu: reprezentace Československa v umění, architektuře a designu. Building a State: The Representation of Czechoslovakia in Art, Architecture and Design (Prague: UMPRUM, 2015), p. 265.

60 Benešová and Šimůnková, p. 84.

61 Igor Janovský, Jana Kleinová and Hynek Stříteský, eds., Věda a technika v Československu v letech 1945–1960 [Science and Technology in Czechoslovakia 1945–1960] (Prague: Národní technické muzeum, 2010), p. 209.

62 Kramerová and Skálová, ‘Realita bruselského snu', p. 47.

63 František Tröster et al., František Tröster: básník světla a prostoru [František Tröster: Poet of Light and Space] (Prague: Obecní dům, 2007), pp. 134–37.

64 Benešová and Šimůnková, p. 84.

65 Ibid.

66 The sculpture was originally named ‘The Atomic Age'.

67 Jiří Hlušička, Vincenc Makovský (Prague: Odeon, 1979), p. 45.

68 Vincenc Makovský and Věra Richtrová, ‘Sochaři se slunce neusmívá’ [The Sculptor’s Sun does not Smile], Květy, 9 June 1960, pp. 12–13.

69 Kramerová and Skálová, ‘Realita bruselského snu', p. 49.

70 Morris Low, ‘Atoms for Peace in Brussels and Osaka', in World's Fairs in the Cold War: Science, Technology, and the Culture of Progress, ed. by Arthur P. Mollela and Scott Gabriel Knowles (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2019), pp. 46–54 (p. 46).

71 Stuart W. Leslie and Joris Mercelis, ‘Expo '58: Nucleus for a New Europe', in World's Fairs in the Cold War, ed. by Mollela and Knowles, pp. 11–26 (p. 11).

72 Santar, p. 37.

73 Low, p. 48.

74 Reid, p. 1.

75 Příloha dopisu ministra financí pro ministerstvo školství z 1. října ve věci finančního zajištění kulturní části československé expozice [Annexe of the Letter from the Finance Minister to the Ministry of Education from October 1 Concerning the Financial Provision of the Cultural Part of the Czechoslovak Exposition] (Document 55), in Benešová and Šimůnková, p. 35.

76 Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania were supposed to participate and developed projects for their pavilions. However, these countries eventually withdrew from Expo 58.

77 Zápis z porady generálních komisařů států Východního bloku [Minutes from the Meeting of the General Commissioners of the States of the Eastern Bloc] (Document 83), in: Benešová and Šimůnková, p. 45.

78 Ibid.

79 Reid, p. 21.

80 Benešová and Šimůnková, p. 49.

81 Ibid., p. 59.

82 Kramerová and Skálová, ‘Realita bruselského snu', p. 19.

83 Ibid., p. 22.

84 Guistino, p. 187.

85 Daniela Kramerová et al., Bruxelles 1958: Exposition Universelle et Internationale (Prague: Arbor vitae, 2008), p. 22.

86 Kramerová and Skálová, ‘Realita bruselského snu', pp. 19–20.

87 Krystyna Wanatowiczová, ‘Expo 58: když nám patřil svět’ [Expo 58: When the Whole World Applauded Us]. Idnes.cz, 18 June 2008 <https://www.idnes.cz/zpravy/archiv/expo-58-kdyz-nam-patril-svet.A080613_190409_kavarna_bos> [accessed 19 January 2022].

88 Kramerová and Skálová, ‘Realita bruselského snu', p. 86; Reid, p. 22; Jersild, p. 120.

89 Reid, p. 55.

90 Kramerová, p. 40.

91 Kramerová and Skálová, ‘Výstavnictví v Československu', p. 199.

92 Kramerová and Skálová, ‘Realita bruselského snu', pp. 84–85.

93 Smithonian Institution, ‘First betatron of Donald Kerst', <https://www.si.edu/object/first-betatron-donald-kerst-1940%3Anmah_700149> [accessed 14 January 2022].

94 Illinois Distributed Museum, ‘Betatron', <https://distributedmuseum.illinois.edu/exhibit/betatron/> [accessed 14 January 2022].

95 Ibid.

96 ‘Smithsonian Gets Betatron', Daily Illini, 20 October 1960, p. 12.

97 See L. M. Anan’jev, Alexandr Akimovič Vorob’jev and V. I. Gorbunov, Indukcionnyj uskoriteľ elektronov-betatron [Induction Accelerator of Electrons – Betatron] (Moscow: Atomizdat, 1961), pp. 4–8.

98 Z připomínek ÚV KSČ ke scénáři [Scenario Comments of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia] (Document 123), in Benešová and Šimůnková, p. 69; See also: Kramerová and Skálová, ‘Realita bruselského snu', p. 19.

99 ‘Další úspěch našich výzkumníků: Betatron československé výroby’ [Another Success of our Researchers: A Betatron of Czechoslovak Manufacture], Rovnost, 8 November 1956, p. 3.

100 Igor Janovský, ‘Československý betatron’ [Czechoslovak Betatron], Dějiny věd a techniky, 40 (2007), 103–18 (p. 103).

101 Ibid., p. 104.

102 Rubin, p. 8.

103 Mirko Imrich, ‘Atomová energie ve službách míru’ [Atomic Energy in the Service of Peace], Rudé právo, 17 May 1956, p. 1.

104 ‘Zahájení sovětsko-československé výstavy Atomy pro mír', p. 1.

105 See, for example: ‘MeV 2,5 žije’ [MeV 2,5 Lives], Rovnost, 15 September 1956, p. 3; ‘Z brněnské strojírenské výstavy: Na přehlídce slaboproudé techniky’ [From the Brno Engineering Exhibition: At the Exhibition of Low Current Technology], Rudé právo, 18 September 1956, p. 1.

106 Janovský, p. 105; Kramerová and Skálová, ‘Realita bruselského snu', p. 54.

107 Benešová and Šimůnková, p. 85.

108 See, for example: ‘N. p. Chirana vyrábí betatrony’ [National Company Chirana Produces Betatrons], Věda a technika mládeži, 9 September 1959, p. 580; Jaromír Klener, ‘Naše výrobky v Lipsku’ [Our Products in Leipzig], Rudé právo, 6 March 1960, p. 3; Bedřich Golombek, Čtení o veletrhu [Reading about the Fair] (Brno: Krajské nakladatelství, 1961), p. 138; Filip Wittlich, Milena Lamarová, Gabriel Urbánek and Miloslav Šebek, Narozeniny republiky [Birthday of the Republic] (Prague: Československá obchodní banka, 1998), p. 59.

109 ‘Diskuse ke zprávě Ústředního výboru KSČ XI. sjezdu’ [Discussion about the Report of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia to the XIth Congress], Rudé právo, 21 June 1958, p. 6.

110 Lenka Hašková, ‘Světová výstava v Bruselu otevřena’ [The Brussels World’s Fair has Opened], Rudé právo, 18 April 1958, p. 1.

111 ‘Z Bruselské výstavy: Nadšené výroky o čs. pavilónu’ [From the Brussels Fair: Enthusiastic Statements about the Czechoslovak Pavilion], Rudé právo, 22 April 1958, p. 6.

112 See, for example: ‘Naši a Expo 58. Zpráva našeho dopisovatele’ [Ours and Expo 58: Report of Our Correspondent], Obrana lidu, 8 June 1958, p. 2; ‘Věda v Bruselu’ [Science in Brussels], Československý voják, 2 August 1958, p. 6.

113 ‘Naši a Expo 58', p. 2.

114 See the film at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLSzMon20LI.

115 Zpravodajství o krátkometrážních filmech, 22 April 1958, p. 3.

116 Zpravodajství o krátkometrážních filmech, 7 October 1958, p. 3.

117 Filmové informace, 24 September 1958, p. 3.

118 Filmové informace, 4 November 1959, p. 3; ‘Úspěch našich krátkých filmů ve Francii’ [Success of Our Short Films in France], Rudé právo, 1 November 1959, p. 1.

119 Jan Sokol, Jak jsem se měl na světě [How I was Living] (Prague: Radioservis, 2011), p. 43.

120 See Rubin, p. 8.

121 Práce, 1 May 1958, p. 6.

122 See Jiří Brabenec, ČSSR v kostce včera a dnes, doma a v cizině [Czechoslovakia in a Nutshell Yesterday and Today, Home and Abroad] (Prague: Lidová demokracie, 1960), p. 217; Václav Husa, Dějiny Československa [History of Czechoslovakia] (Prague: Orbis, 1961), p. 446.

123 Československá fotografie, 9, no. 11 (1958), p. 122.

124 Aškenazy, p. 6.

125 Ibid.

126 Especially the first Soviet nuclear power plant in Obninsk, which was launched in 1954. See Michaela Šmidrkalová, Vyhlížení atomového věku I: Popularizace jaderné energie a energetiky v Československu v padesátých letech 20. století [Looking ahead to the Atomic Age I: Popularization of Nuclear Energy and the Energy Industry in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s] (Prague: Ústav pro soudobé dějiny AV ČR, v.v.i., 2019), pp. 56–57.

127 Aškenazy, p. 6.

128 Plans from the mid-1950s anticipated that the first Czechoslovak atomic power plant would be completed by the beginning of the 1960s, but the reality proved otherwise. The first Czechoslovak nuclear power plant, which had been under construction since 1958 and was located near the village of Jaslovské Bohunice in Western Slovakia, was finally put into operation at the end of 1972.

129 Benešová and Šimůnková, p. 85.

130 See Jiří Brabenec, Dobrodružství v Eridanu [An Adventure in Eridan] (Prague: Lidová demokracie, 1961), p. 379.

131 See Milan Knížák, Básně 1974–2001 [Poems 1974–2001] (Olomouc: Votobia, 2001), p. 51.

132 Kramerová, p. 15.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Czech Academy of Sciences under Lumina quaeruntur, ID LQ300772201, ‘Images of science’ in Czechoslovakia 1918–1945–1968.