New articles and programmes appeared in the press, radio and TV, so far forbidden topic started to be dealt with. The Czechoslovakian TV also came with new programmes and guests with whom they openly discussed some of the hot topics of that time. These new programmes will be dealt with in a different article.
We have chosen for you the transcription of a TV interview, which was broadcast at the beginning of February. The content is interesting mainly because it discusses two major events of the year 1967. We will leave the rest solely up to you.
1968, 4th February, Prague – Recording of a TV interview of the editor in chief of the Czechoslovakian TV News Bulletin Kamil Winter with the chair of the Cechoslovakian Writers‘ Association Eduard Goldstrucker.
Winter: Welcome, Honza. Sorry that I had to put down the phones first, otherwise it would be difficult to talk in this not very representative study. I am very pleased that you are the first person who accepted the invitation to this programme of informal talks. You are also the first one here holding a new office – this is more or less a coincidence, I did not want to invite officials, I wanted to invite personalities.
Goldstucker: Well, I hope that from now on you will not perceive me as an official.
Winter: No, I see you very differently. I am all the more happy, because – you may not know it – I also started to do German studies and I realised that if I decided now to finish my studies, it would be you who would ask me questions, whereas now it is vice-versa, which is a reason for joy. But, Eda, what is on my heart: you got a new office and became the chairperson of the Czechoslovakian Writers‘ Association. Why did you take the office?
Goldstucker: It is a rather complex story. By the way, the word ‘complex’ is very fashionable nowadays. I accepted the office after a long hesitation, it took me three months from the time when I was nominated until I decided to take it. I accepted it mostly because I believed and my colleagues from the Writers‘ Association convinced me about it, that in this new office I can contribute to normalization of the conditions of the Association in our society and that I can also contribute to maintain the unity of the writers community which manifested itself so unexpectedly in the last few months since its IV meeting. I see my office as temporary, only for the time that I will be needed in the office.
Winter: You have mentioned the meeting. I’d be interested to know what your opinion is on the following matter: A lot happened at the meeting and it has been talked a lot about. However, not much was written about it. All in all, we can say that people were informed about the conclusion of the meeting but a great majority of people do not know what actually happened at the meeting. Do you think that it would be good for a healthy development to let people know what, in fact, was happening at the meeting?
Goldstucker: I think, Kamil, that the view on the IV meeting of writers is very different from the perspective of the results of the last session of the UV KSC. I think that the view from the official party’s position is very different than before. After all, it was shown, that, if we take it as one historical process, a certain degree of dissatisfaction was expressed mainly with the relationship of our society towards intelligentsia. This relationship has been formed here quite recently and it does not correspond to the traditions of the Communist Party nor to the national Czech and Slovak traditions.
Winter: So it is something that does not have any historical roots in our country.
Goldstucker: I believe that it has been brought into our society quite recently and it does not reflect our traditions. As for the Communist Party, it does not correspond to its traditions because the Czechoslovakian Communist Party – as you well know - is one of the few revolutionary parties, which from the beginning of its existence, had a huge support of not just some ordinary intelligentsia but of the intelligentsia’s elite. As far as Czech and Slovak national traditions are concerned, whichever way we look at it, the intelligentsia played an extremely important role in comparison with other nations. The importance lay in the fact, that the intelligentsia first worded, realised and brought to the nation’s attention the awareness of its national existence, the awareness of the need of an independent national awareness in modern times, since the end of the 18th century. This intelligentsia in Czechs and Slovaks was issued from the lowest classes and was therefore always respected and esteemed by the nation for its origin and its role. The recent phenomenon of bitterness and suspicion towards intelligentsia has, in my opinion, been artificially brought to our society. And it was shown that this lead to situations which became untenable.
This clearly appeared in the writers’ meeting in June, then in a so called Strahov matter with students and from today’s point of view, when we strive to unite all the positive creative forces in our society, it is necessary to look again at these matters. And therefore also at the writers’meeting.
Winter: When you say to look again…I will ask you a question which is actually a question that people would like to ask, because it is circulating everywhere around us: What about the writers that have personally felt the repercussions of the development after the meeting ?
Goldstucker: You mean those writers that were expelled from the Party following the resolution of the Central Committee from last September, i.e. L. Vaculik, Ivan Klima and A.J. Liehm. When I say that we need to look at some things, I also mean these things. Unfortunately we were not fully informed of the course of the last session of the Party’s Central Committee. From what we know, sharper words seem to have been said at the session than what Vaculik, Klima and Liehm said. We need to look at it. The Writers’ Association asked the Party to look into the matter.
Winter: Have you done it, yet?
Goldstucker: We did it following the resolution of the Central Committee of the Czechoslovakian Writers’ Association. We hope that the matter will be investigated in the spirit that I have indicated a while ago.
Winter: When we talk about individual people, there is also Mnacko, who comes into my mind. Western press writes a lot about whether he will or not come back in connection with the latest events. I do not want the case Mnacko to be judged now …
Goldstucker: These are speculations. The case of Mnacko, as you know, is different from the case of the three comrades that I have mentioned. Mnacko left on his own and nothing but his own will, and he may or may not come back. However, the situation is that he was formally deprived of citizenship and he will have to solve this, if he decides to come back. Knowing Ladislav Mnacko, I’d bet that sooner or later he will come back.
Winter: Let’s leave the writers. Fortunately, you also hold some other offices so we can talk for example about the students that you have mentioned in connection with Strahov. The press informed us of the conclusion, I mean the official conclusion.
Goldstucker: You mean the investigation of the Strahov matter?
Winter: I believe, that the situation in Strahov is not limited to the safety reasons. Don’t you think that the problem is deeper than the students residences and lights?
Goldstucker: Of course it is more profound. What happened in Strahov in relation to the demonstration arouses certain outrage because one, in my opinion, quite terrible thing happened.Twenty years after the February of 48, students, who were mostly born after the February, were treated as a class of enemies. This showed how far we have got in the relationship towards intelligentsia. However, I think that the whole case of the students lies somewhere else. If you follow all the affairs in which students have recently played a role, you will see that the main problem is that the students do not feel at home within the organizational bounds that they were given by our society. And sooner or later there will always appear the requirement of a less restricted organizational framework for students activities. Therefore it is a question that has to be dealt with. The existing structure of a unified organization of youth does not give students the opportunity to make use of their own, specific problems! I believe, that it is necessary to be active and operational and do something to change the organizational structure of the Czechoslovakian Youth Organization, so that the students, who are a part of our young generation, could be useful and could have the possibility to live a free life. The students need to know that they are fully-fledged citizens of this State and that they can make full use of their problems. Thus they will be where sooner or later we need them to be, if this society wants to have a positive future, i.e. they have to have a positive attitude to everything that is happening in the country. This is, I believe, the key problem.
Winter: Eda, I’d talk to you for longer, but ‘children’ are waiting for you – I mean those from the children broadcasting.
Goldstucker: Unfortunately, there is more work waiting for me.
Winter: So thank you very much for coming into our programme and I hope to see you some time again.
Goldstucker: Good-bye