Writers against the regime – Kersk

Fact of the Czech figure „The independent culture under the communist regime”

Part of the „Culture against communism„ topic

The influence of the regime also affected the Czech literary community, officially united in the Union of Czechoslovak Writers. The dominant genre of Czech literature was socialist realism and works were subject to strict censorship. The alternative to writing was to avoid politically controversial topics.

This was the route taken for example by Bohumil Hrabal, who was allowed to publish some of his literary works, often written at his cottage in Kersk, under the supervision of the censors. One of the options for writers who wanted to oppose the regime with their work, was emigration. This was the path of Milan Kundera, Josef Škvorecký, Arnošt Lustig or Pavel Kohout.

Another option was the illegal publication and distribution of banned works – samizdat. For example, the author of the Two Thousand Words manifesto, which was inseparably linked to the Prague Spring, Ludvík Vaculík, was involved in the production of samizdat within the Petlice edition. However, the relationship between writers and the regime was never black and white. Many of the life stories of authors actively working against the regime include their party history and moments of collaboration with the regime.