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Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Czechoslovakia


I know that nowadays it's "Czechia" or "Czech Republic," but when this poster was made, it was still Czechoslovakia.  They apparently had a sports event to celebrate 20 years of independence, and I can't help but wonder if the object in his right hand is a grenade, perhaps an omen of coming war.

 

14 comments:

  1. It looks as though he might have a spare down his shorts! He's a fine figure of a man.

    This was a delightful series, Jerry, and a very welcome surprise posting

    Peter

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  2. This posting is unique and fascinating. A great idea, Jerry! Thanks.

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  3. By the way, the poster translated as "All School Gathering."

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    1. Thanks for the translation. Glad you liked the series, B.D.

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    2. Probably related to their Sokol athletic organization.
      -Rj in the IE

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    3. There is a missing O on Big Dude translation: "All School" is translated as: Všeškolní (školní = of all schools) (Vše = all), At the poster it is written: Vše"sokolskí" slet (slet = meeting, get together).
      So a more correct translation is "All Sokol groups meeting"
      As Anonymous August 23, 2022 at 9:06 AM correctly mentioned, this was a regular meeting of the Sokol organization (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokol).
      The Sokol organized the "slets". Later the "Spartakiads", a massive gymnastic meeting were supported by the communists even if the sokol organization itself was taken out of operation.
      The last Spartakiad was in 1985 in communist Czecholovaquia.
      They were carried out at the massive Spartakiádní stadion, Strahov Prague. Check wikipedia and see the stadium on Google Earth.
      By the way, in the 85's event there was a soldier exercise, and they wore white shorts which were shorter, tighter and skimpier that the one on the poster (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6cG0DRRJc4). Probably without underwear...
      Note there is a youtube comment by flankerpraha (in czech) that support the "no underwear" comment. According to him, the soldiers were told to wipe their asses properly to keep the shorts white.

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    4. That 1985 youtube leads to a 1975 version with various performers. The shorts in the men's soldier exercise are more like the 1938 poster, and it must have spanned more than 1 day, because some of the time, it's raining on a muddy field, which shows on the clothing.

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  4. Czechoslovakia had three million men under arms by 1936, a huge army given the size of the country. That was the year Hitler bluffed his way into reoccupying the Rhineland, which was a demilitarized zone under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the Treaty reducing the German armed forces to 100,000 men. Hitler had to rearm by stealth and ranted and raved against Czechoslovakia which he saw as a very genuine threat and thus wished to neutralize. Goebbels had yet to start his "guns before butter" propaganda campaign for Germany seriously to rearm. It has been very reasonably argued that had Czechoslovakia invaded Germany at this point, they would have won. We can indeed see how high anxieties ran as the Anschluss took Austria into the German Reich on the run up to Munich. All the more so in that this was ostensibly a schools event.

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    1. Some historians contend that Chamberlain knew "peace in our time" was a lie, and that he was just buying time for the UK to rearm when he sold out the Czechs in '38. True about the Germans likely losing at an early stage.

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    2. The Germans had the upper hand in intelligence gathering.
      Remember before 1918 Czechoslovakia was part of the Austrian Empire.
      Many of the officers in the Czech military, formerly were in the Austrian
      military. After WW1 these former officers would have reunions with their
      former Austro-Hungarian comrades and would mindlessly speak of Czechoslovakia's defenses that they were privy too. (Much of it secret)
      Their Austro-Hungarian "brothers" would then pass this information onto their German "friends".
      As the saying goes "Loose lips sink ships"!

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    3. I also want to add to my statement above, the Germans for some time had even before Hitler, done things to stir-up and agitate the "Deutsche-Volk" .(The Sudeten Germans more accurately the Sudeten Austrians ! )
      As Bohemia was always either Austrian or Czech.
      -Rj in the IE

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  5. Whilst doing my research on the history of men's sportswear I came across any number of posters such as these. Commercial artists sometimes made a living out of doing them. I came to appreciate them greatly and so, Jerry, thank you so very much for featuring some of them today. They are truly part of our sporting history.

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