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Czech-Americans: The Love of Liberty in Nebraska · Nebraska History Podcast

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The following episode features a historic article from the
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Nebraska History Magazine. This article may reflect the
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language and attitudes of its time and, while it offers
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valuable insight into the past, may contain expressions or
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viewpoints that are outdated or offensive.
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By today's standards, any outdated terms do not reflect
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the current views or perspectives.
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Of the Nebraska State Historical Society.
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Welcome to the Nebraska History Podcast.
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I'm your host, Chris Goforth. Each episode we explore articles
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written and published in Nebraska History Magazine.
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In the late 1800s to early 1900s, a large number of Czech
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immigrants found a new home in Nebraska.
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In this episode we learn more about the Czech struggle for
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independence, explore their cultural life and the persistent
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challenge of assimilation on the Prairie through the 1993
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Nebraska History Magazine article Czech Americans the Love
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of Liberty written by Joseph G Svoboda.
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Karl Zulich became the first permanent Czech settler in
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Nebraska when he set foot in the little town of Ergo in
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Richardson County on the Missouri River.
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The date August 27th, 1856. During the next 6 decades some
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50,000 checks settled permanently in Nebraska.
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This was a large percentage of the total Czech immigration into
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the United States. By 1910, the number of 1st and
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2nd generation checks in Nebraska was nearly 51,000, or
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approximately 10% of the state's population of foreign birth and
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foreign parentage and almost 5% of the total population of the
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state. It has been estimated that in
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1910, one eighth of all checks in the United States resided in
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Nebraska. Who were the Czechs, or
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Bohemians, as they were more often called?
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Why did they leave their homeland, Why did they come to
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the United States, and why did they settle in such numbers on
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the Nebraska prairies? These and related questions must
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first be answered to better understand the way of life of
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Czech settlers in Nebraska, their struggles in the new
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environment, their Americanization, their
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generational differences, and their heritage.
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The highlights of the historical development of the Kingdom of
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Bohemia provide a clue to the formation of the characteristics
2:20
of the Czech people. 2 Historical factors shaped the
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philosophical outlook of the Slavs of Central Europe.
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The first is evident in the dawn of Czech history, when Cyril and
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Methodius, on invitation of the Czech Prince Rostaslov, came in
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863 AD from Byzantium to Great Moravia to introduce
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Christianity to the Czechs in the Old Slavonic language.
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The two Greek missionaries, with their indefatigable zeal,
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prevailed in their work despite the pressure of German bishops
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who were there to Christianize the Western Slavs under the
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auspice of the German Princess and in their interest.
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This early conflict heralded a long history of Czech struggle
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for survival as a nation against the predominant German
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influence, which was at times subtle but often brutal.
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Although these struggles could not be wholly successful within
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the framework of the medieval Holy Roman Empire dominated by
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the Germans, who continued their penetration into Bohemia and
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Moravia, the Czechs essentially did preserve their cultural and
3:27
political identity. The 14th century brought a new
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element into the Czech struggle for survival.
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Toward the end of that century, the corrupt practices of the
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Catholic Church came under attack by Jan Hoos, a priest and
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the rector of the recently established Charles University
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at Prague. Hoos, influenced in his
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teachings by the early English reformer Wycliffe, was called to
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defend his criticisms to the currently sitting at Church
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Council in Constance and on refusing to recant, he was
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burned at the stake as a heretic in 1415.
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The ensuing revolt of the Czechs, who successfully
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defeated the crusading army sent against them by the Pope's, is
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one of the most crucial periods of Czech history.
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Inevitably, the struggle for religious freedom against the
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power of the Catholic Church became a part of a more general
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conflict for Czech independence against the German threat.
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Although lacking ideological cohesion, the Czech who sites
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LED by able generals defeated waves of invading armies from
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Catholic Europe, finally divided among themselves moderate who
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cites defeated radicals in a fratricidal battle at Lippany in
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1434. This disastrous event
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demonstrated for the first time the difficulty of achieving A
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modus Vivendi and unity among the stubborn and variously
4:53
motivated free checks. Still, the moderate Husite party
4:57
gained a limited victory that lasted for almost 200 years, in
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spite of the ascension of the German Habsburgs to the throne
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of Bohemia in 1526. By then, Protestant Reformation
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movements had arisen in various parts of Europe, and the Czech
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Evangelical Bohemian Brethren, the spiritual heirs of the
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earlier Husites, flourished in the Czech lands.
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Gradual encroachment on Czech rights to political and
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religious liberty by the Habsburg monarchs led to the
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last stand the Czechs made for their national liberties.
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Their tragic defeat at White Mountain in 1620 left the Czech
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nation spiritually and materially broken and at the
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mercy of the absolute power of the German Habsburg.
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Bent on revenge, their leaders either executed or exiled, their
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lands confiscated and their writings burned.
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The checks for more than two centuries lived in an age of
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darkness. During the 17th and 18th
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centuries, the oppressed peasants, with the support of a
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few patriotic priests, kept the Czech language and the Czech
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freedom spiritually alive. The towns and cities were fast
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becoming Germanized. Even the patent of toleration
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granted by the enlightened Emperor Joseph the Second in
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1781, allowing religious freedom to recognize Protestant
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denominations, did not stem the tide of national lethargy.
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Germanizing tendencies increased.
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The ideas of the French Revolution, carried throughout
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Europe by the armies of Napoleon, ushered in a new era
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of hope, particularly to subjugated national groups,
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although pessimism still prevailed to a large extent
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under Metternich's absolutism. Following the defeat of
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Napoleon, the impact of liberalizing ideas was generally
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felt among the Czech intelligentsia.
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With the restoration of intellectual leadership and
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awakening among the Czechs began.
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Known as the Narodni O Brizeni, or National Revival, this
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awakening brought a new flowering of Czech culture, the
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results of which were transplanted were ever Czechs
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settled in America? The revolutions which swept
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across Europe in 1848 undermined authoritarian regimes, and the
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Austrian Empire was no exception.
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Medernick's despotic regime came to an end, and with it the last
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vestige of feudalism. Although Habsburg repression
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reasserted itself and the Czechs grew more and more dissatisfied
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with their inferior political and economic position in the
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Austrian Empire that Narodni Obrazeni at this time turned
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toward political objectives. Liberal journalists, writers,
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politicians and scholars writing first in German and later in
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Czech, began reaching and teaching more and more of their
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countrymen. A better understanding and
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appreciation of Czech history. Particularly the glorious era of
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the Husite Reformation, with its deeper meaning of freedom,
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humanism, democracy and justice, as well as the endless struggle
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against German might, made the Czechs proud and self reliant.
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Because the Czechs immigrated to America in the decades between
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1848 and the founding of an independent Czechoslovakia in
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1918, the struggle against Catholic Habsburg alliance is
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important for understanding the religious and political views of
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Czechs in the United States. This helped persuade many Czech
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immigrants to embrace free thought and a few to join
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Protestant dominations, while resistance to authoritarian and
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Germanizing Habsburg policies produced a liberal and
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nationalistic ideology which checks carried to America.
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Although a few residents of Bohemia and Moravia entered
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England's American colonies in the 17th century as a result of
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the persecution of Moravian brethren after the White
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Mountain disaster, Czech immigration to the United States
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did not begin in earnest until the second-half of the 19th
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century. Despite the Czechs awareness of
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past oppression and of existing uncertainty, neither political
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nor religious reasons primarily accounted for Czech immigration
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to the United States. The foremost cause were
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worsening economic conditions and overpopulation in rural
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Bohemia and Moravia, situations exasperated in South Bohemia by
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enclosure of the land on large estates.
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Nationalistic Czech leaders discouraged people from leaving
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Bohemia or Moravia for whatever reasons, arguing in one instance
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that quote, love of fatherland, if nothing else, should deter
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Czechs from emigrating. End Quote.
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But the urge for greater economic security was too
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strong. Stories of the discovery of gold
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in California in 1849, sensationally magnified in
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newspapers, lured some checks across the Atlantic 13 years
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later. The 1862 Homestead Act provided
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a real inducement to peasants who had to eke out an existence
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on inadequate land holdings. The wars in which the wobbly
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Austria Hungarian Empire was continuously engulfed and which
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provided many more defeats than victories for the armies of the
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Emperor, encouraged Czech lads to avoid military service by
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quietly slipping to the Promised Land across the ocean.
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Some checks also came to the United States as political
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refugees, but their number was insignificant in contrast to
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several 100,000 immigrant farmers and artisans.
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As more check immigrants settled in America, they wrote to
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families and friends back at home describing American living
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conditions, political freedom and economic opportunities, and
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thus induced thousands of other checks to emigrate.
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Some Midwestern states, anxious to increase their population,
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encouraged immigration from European countries, including
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Bohemia, by publishing pamphlets and newspaper advertisements
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about the Wonderland on the American prairies.
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The majority of early immigrants were peasants who had owned very
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little land, usually not more than 25 acres, or were the
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younger sons of small land holders who could not be
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optimistic about obtaining land on which to farm.
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These Cottagers, as they were so-called, represented the rural
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lower middle class who had very little opportunity to improve
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their lot in a strictly stratified society.
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They could, however, sell their land and thereby afford
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transportation for themselves and their families to America
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and still have enough money left to pay for land registration
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fees and immediate necessities. The peasants with larger land
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holdings managed quite well and did not have the urge to leave.
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Landless day laborers simply did not have the funds to emigrate.
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Other Czech immigrants came from various trades, shoemakers,
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tailors, cabinet makers, harness makers, and blacksmiths, while
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some immigrants had no particular trade or occupation
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at all and worked temporarily in manufacturing plants as
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unskilled laborers. Educationally, Czech immigrants
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rated high due to compulsory state supported elementary
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education provided since 1869 in Bohemia, Moravia and most other
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Austrian crown lands. This universal education
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consisted for most part of five grades of elementary school.
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Relatively few Czechs had attained a high school
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education, and fewer still were able to attend a university.
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Nevertheless, a sprinkling of Czech immigrants had received a
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higher education, sometimes in Roman Catholic seminaries.
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The attitude of Czech immigrants toward religion is most
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perplexing to American observers.
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Unlike the immigrants of other nationalities, who generally
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retained their native religion, the Czechs in large number
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abandoned their allegiance to the Catholic Church to which
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they customarily belonged in Bohemia.
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While over 90% of the population in Bohemia was considered
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Catholic, according to official Austrian statistics, less than
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half the Czech immigrants retained their membership in
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that church. In the United States.
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In some communities, the percentage of secularists or
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freethinkers was even larger. One writer, Rose Rosicki,
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defined the term freethinkers as quote all the groups ranging
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from atheists or more properly speaking, pantheists.
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For Czech atheists believed in nature as a guiding force to
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those who believed in the Creator but did not attend
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church. End Quote.
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The reason for many Czechs rejection of organized religion
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lay in their experience with the Catholic Church in Bohemia,
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where it represented an arm used by the Habsburgs to keep the
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checks in the political subjugation and economic
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dependence in the United States. They simply expressed their
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freedom by not joining any church or by formulating
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spiritual alternatives. These unchurched were far more
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numerous among the free thinkers than were the doctrinaire
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atheists. The latter, however, organized
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themselves first in the unity of free thinkers and later in the
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association of free thought societies.
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By their press they propagated rationalism and atheism with the
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missionary zeal of early Christians.
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Their vitriolic attacks against Christianity in general, but
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more particularly at the Catholic Church, made
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cooperation among various Czech American groups difficult.
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For the purpose of self help, the Czechs organized themselves
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into fraternal benevolent associations, which paid a
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benefit to members in case of illness or death.
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The benevolent Low Premium Insurance associations, the best
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known of which were the Czechoslovic Benevolent Society
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and its offshoot, the Western Bohemian Fraternal Association,
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had hundreds of lodges across the United States and proved to
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be of immeasurable assistance to many Czech immigrants who could
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not otherwise afford life and health insurance.
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Next to benevolent associations, the checks formed social
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interest groups such as reading societies, dramatic clubs,
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singing circles, and gymnastic associations, most prominent
15:35
among them Socal. Since the orientation of most of
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these groups was liberal, for example, the CSPS had an anti
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Catholic bias, the Catholics often organized themselves into
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separate groups, such as the Catholic workmen, usually
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centered around the local church.
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Prentice Check. Sokotuma, A Czech writer who
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arrived in the United States in 19 O four and spent some five
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months visiting Czech communities, made an interesting
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observation. He said, Quote, the checks in
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America are brought together only for mutual protection
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necessitated by lack of American social legislation.
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Above that, they are interested only in social gatherings,
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concerts, stage plays, but all their activity is not motivated
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for the national or Czech good, but it is dependent upon other,
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often personal reasons and circumstances.
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End Quote. While this, as well as
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observations of other Czech visitors about the life of Czech
16:36
Americans is superficial and lacks understanding of American
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conditions, it also strikes a true note about the Czech
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immigrants. They were aware of their need
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for security even though they loved social life, group and
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national activities as well. The Czechs did not leave their
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native land to establish a utopian society in America, aim
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to make a better life for themselves and their children.
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It is true that many of them were exposed to the various
17:06
social and labor ideals, which, with increasing
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industrialization checks, discussed and wrote about in
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Bohemia and Moravia. Those who opted to settle in
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large American cities often experienced extreme
17:20
difficulties. Poor labor conditions and
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substandard housing, coupled with the tendencies of employers
17:27
to take advantage of non-english speaking immigrants, provided
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good grounds for establishing Czech labor organizations.
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The first such Czech workers club was founded in Chicago as
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early as 1866. It was followed by similar
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groups in Cleveland and New York, where in 1870 the first
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Czech trade union was organized. The new Czech labor movement had
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established as its spokesman as early as 1870 the weekly
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newspaper the Rodney Novene National News, published in
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Chicago. It is interesting to note that
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this newspaper anti dated by two years the first Czech socialist
18:03
newspaper in Prague. Newspapers were the most
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important medium keeping American checks aware both of
18:10
happenings in many of the Czech settlements in the United States
18:14
and of developments in their native land.
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Between January of 1860 and the spring OF1911326 Czech
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newspapers and journals, predominantly weeklies, were
18:26
published. Most.
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Were short. Lived lasting less than a year,
18:31
their publishers and editors were for the most part self
18:34
educated men dedicated to helping and advising the new
18:37
immigrants. Their leadership was not always
18:40
appreciated. Readers often fail to pay
18:43
subscriptions, causing the financial failure of many
18:46
sincere and useful journalistic efforts.
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One editor, in announcing the demise of his weekly, wrote
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bitterly in 1874. Quote It is hard to make a
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living in America with a pick and shovel, yet it is even
19:00
harder for a journalist. I am throwing away the pen which
19:04
made three prime years of my life so miserable.
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I will not even say whose fault it is.
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I mentioned only that I could not publish the farewell issue
19:14
of the newspaper because I lacked money to buy the new
19:18
Sprint, even though the checks owed me $800.
19:22
End Quote. On the other hand, religious,
19:24
political, and ideological animosities among some competing
19:28
newspapers ran high and in many instances contributed to bitter
19:32
relationships among their readers.
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Checks settled in Nebraska for the same reason that they
19:39
settled in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, and the Dakotas.
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They migrated for the most part from the villages of Bohemia and
19:47
Moravia, and they hungered for land that they could till and
19:51
own. Recognizing that American land
19:54
was available in abundance. 3 Acts passed by the United States
19:59
Congress or made effective in Nebraska between 1854 and 1873
20:04
enabled A prospective settler to take possession of up to 480
20:09
acres of land within a few years.
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The early Czech newspapers directed the newcomers
20:14
interested in farming to the most favorable unsettled parts
20:18
of the Midwest and in the Great Plains.
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Many Czechs who settled first in Wisconsin and Iowa moved farther
20:24
West on learning of excellent conditions for farming and
20:27
readily available land. The first Czech.
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Newspaper in Nebraska, Pokrok Zapadu.
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Progress of the West, founded in Omaha in 1871 by enterprising
20:38
Czech Jew Edward Rosewater, served in its early stages as a
20:42
land advertising sheet. The railway companies,
20:46
especially the Burlington and Missouri River and the Union
20:49
Pacific, were very active in their efforts to bring more
20:52
settlers to Nebraska. Frank Sadilek, an early Czech
20:57
settler from Wilbur, claimed that quote.
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Up to 1880, fully 3/4 of the entire number of Czech
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immigrants came to our state. End Quote.
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Like immigrants of other nationalities, the Czechs
21:08
suffered much in their new homes.
21:11
Along with economic hardships and the rigors of pioneering,
21:14
settlers faced extreme isolation and loneliness.
21:18
Although the minds of Czechs were for centuries exposed to
21:21
Westernizing influences, their inner makeup remained Slavic,
21:25
inscrutably complex and sentimental.
21:29
Their love of music, dance, and beer occasioned joyful
21:32
celebration and the release from monotony of day-to-day
21:36
existence. Here on the prairies of
21:39
Nebraska, they were, in the early years of their settlement,
21:42
denied this kind of escape. Willa Cather in her.
21:46
Poignant story of a Czech immigrant family in Nebraska,
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writes Quote I knew it was homesickness that had killed Mr.
21:54
Shimerda, and I wondered whether his released spirit would not
21:58
eventually find its way to his own country.
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End Quote to. Others the.
22:03
Suicides of fictional Shimerda and other Czech immigrants are
22:07
attributable to their lack of religion and their fatalistic
22:11
outlook on life, it was written. Quote.
22:13
It appears that when a crisis comes, there is no sustained
22:16
force to guide the individual of a more settled mind.
22:19
End Quote. It was the.
22:21
Combination of both the ever present Slavic fatalism as an
22:26
underlying recognition of man's helplessness and the more
22:29
immediate loneliness in the often beautiful but seemingly
22:32
cruel natural setting of their new Prairie home that accounts
22:36
for the high suicide rate of the Czech settlers.
22:39
This mental. Conflict between a desire for
22:43
the greatest possible personal freedom and economic security on
22:47
one hand, and the sentimental longing for the homeland on the
22:50
other did not prevent the Czech pioneers from staying.
22:54
The initial psychological and economic difficulties were
22:57
slowly overcome by a dog to determination and a willingness
23:02
to adjust to make the best of it.
23:04
Their isolation became bearable by occasional visits to their
23:08
Czech neighbors and to the growing number of predominantly
23:11
Czech villages. The village settlements.
23:14
Growing since the late 1860s in eastern Nebraska, particularly
23:18
in Saline, Fillmore, Saunders, Butler, Colfax and Knox
23:22
counties, and in the city of Omaha, provided the means for
23:26
social life by Czech desire. Provided the means.
23:30
For the social life the Czech desired.
23:34
There they. Recreated an image of a bohemian
23:37
setting as they remembered it. Houses adorned by flower beds,
23:41
the vegetable gardens in the back, the benches lining the
23:44
Main Street where older citizens could sit and talk.
23:48
Halls to stage the plays, to dance polkas, to drink beer and
23:52
to argue, and churches for worship.
23:55
This Czech. American setting gave Czech
23:58
security and social satisfaction.
24:01
They viewed it gratefully and were proud of it.
24:04
Czech customs prevailed. People spoke Czech, danced to
24:09
Czech music, cooked, checked dishes and read Czech
24:13
newspapers. Even at death, a person could
24:16
expect to be buried in the Czech cemetery following a eulogy or
24:19
prayers in the Czech language spoken to the soft sounds of
24:23
Czech music. Bojana Nyemkova, an outstanding
24:27
Czech writer who suffered a great deal in Bohemia for her
24:30
convictions, wrote to her friend who left for America regarding
24:34
this need for their cultural unity of Czechs.
24:37
Quote. Live happily.
24:39
In that new country and never regret that you had to leave.
24:43
The fatherland is everywhere where there are people of one
24:47
language, morals and endeavors. End Quote.
24:51
Like checks in. Other parts of the United
24:53
States, the settlers in Nebraska had organizations which served
24:57
their needs. Every Nebraska check settlement
25:00
had its Fraternal Benevolent Lodge, which was concerned not
25:04
only with providing insurance, but with numerous social
25:07
activities as well. In an 1897 convention in Omaha,
25:11
the Western Bohemian Fraternal Association was established as
25:15
an offshoot of the CSPS. Originally, only persons of
25:19
Czech ancestry were permitted to become members.
25:22
The Czech language was used exclusively.
25:25
Various social functions, performances, dances, all
25:28
distinctly reflecting the composition of the Czech
25:31
membership, were organized by local lodges.
25:35
Sokol, The Czech Patriotic Gymnastics Association, founded
25:39
in Bohemia in 1862 with the professed ideal that there must
25:44
be a vigorous mind in a healthy body, spread rapidly among the
25:49
Nebraska Czech American communities.
25:51
It was extremely well organized and its programs were well
25:55
attended, particularly by young Czech Americans of both sexes.
25:59
So-called chapters were active not only in gymnastics, but also
26:03
sponsored educational and cultural programs, including
26:07
Czech language classes, festivals, dances, lectures and
26:10
picnics. Religiously.
26:13
The Czechs in Nebraska were divided about equally into free
26:17
thinkers and Catholics, with a relatively small number of
26:21
evangelical Protestants. Saline and Fillmore counties in
26:24
particular were strongly secularist, while in Butler,
26:28
Saunders, and Colfax counties Catholics predominated, though
26:33
occasional friction arose among them.
26:35
Checks in Nebraska did not allow their religious convictions to
26:39
prevent harmony in business and social life.
26:42
While the unchurched were generally active in the
26:45
fraternal lodges and Socal organizations, the Catholics
26:48
participated in Group activities which usually centered around
26:52
the church and were organized by the priest.
26:55
Both in Catholics and the free thinkers, each in their own way,
26:59
pursued the goal of retaining the traditional Czech culture
27:03
and transmitting it to the next generation.
27:07
The Czech language was to be used as the primary vehicle in
27:10
attaining this goal. The schools were.
27:13
To play a significant part in that effort as well.
27:17
Although even. The most outspoken Czech
27:19
traditionalists favored the American public school system
27:22
with English as the language of instruction.
27:25
They advocated some supplementary education for
27:28
their children in Czech. The children of immigrants,
27:31
after all, learned the native language in their home before
27:34
going to public schools. They had the background and the
27:38
feel for the Czech language, and they saw no reason why they
27:42
should not continue to use it. It was part of their ethnic
27:45
identity. Eventual dissipation of that
27:48
culture was inevitable, however, and perhaps even desirable.
27:52
But would not its retention enrich at least a second
27:56
generation of ethnic Americans? And would not that implantation
28:00
of different ideas help to promote better understanding
28:03
among all Americans as well? The protagonists of
28:06
Supplementary Instruction in Check saw it as a means to
28:09
instill into the children's minds a better understanding of
28:13
their parent culture. During the 19th and the 1st 2
28:16
decades of the 20th century, hundreds of Czech free schools
28:21
operated mainly during the evenings, weekends and summers
28:24
were found across the United States.
28:26
Wherever checks were settled, the classes met in Czech lodge
28:31
halls, Socal halls, or public schools.
28:34
In most cases there was little continuity and the shortage of
28:38
competent teachers created problems.
28:42
According to. A partial survey in 1910,
28:44
Nebraska had five supplementary schools, all conducted by
28:48
freethinkers located in Omaha, S, Omaha, Humboldt, Schuyler,
28:53
and Bruno, with a combined enrollment of about 300 pupils.
28:57
Free schools were sponsored sporadically in Czech
28:59
communities through the 1940s. A recent effort to revive
29:03
interest in the Czech language belonged to Doctor Vladimir
29:07
Kuchera, who, with great dedication, taught hundreds of
29:10
Americans of Czech descent the language in Omaha, Milligan,
29:14
Dwight Skyler, Clarkson, Wilbur Abbey, North Bend, and Table
29:18
Rock in the 1960s and 70s. Czech life in Nebraska, which
29:22
showed vitality for several decades, had by the 1920s begun
29:27
to show signs of weakening, in part due to prejudicial
29:31
pressures of Americanization groups.
29:34
The changes were slow and often imperceptible to contemporaries.
29:39
As the second generation began to outnumber the first, the
29:43
Czech language slowly began to disappear.
29:46
World War One. And the anti foreign feelings
29:49
which resulted led to the enactment of strict language
29:52
laws in Nebraska which further discouraged the younger
29:56
generation from improving their basic knowledge of the language
29:59
and culture of their parents. This waning.
30:03
Of separate identity happened first in the smaller communities
30:08
listen to the sentiment narrative of a member of the
30:10
Czech community at Warsaw, Nebraska in the late 1920s
30:15
quote. The Czech language is.
30:17
Seldom heard in the Warsaw Catholic Church, no longer do
30:21
the beautiful Czech songs of a bygone era echo over the Warsaw
30:25
plain. The time is not distant when the
30:29
deer Czech language will vanish and only the Czech inscriptions
30:33
and the names on the monuments in Warsaw Cemetery will remain
30:37
the passerby of the fact that there lie loyal Czech pioneers
30:41
who struggled for a livelihood and a better future for their
30:45
descendants. End Quote.
30:47
The main source for the survival of the Czech language was the
30:51
steady flow of new Czech immigrants.
30:54
This flow to Nebraska was relatively strong until the
30:57
outbreak of World War One. Following the war it declined
31:02
rapidly. The immigration laws of the
31:04
1920s establishing nationality quotas, prevented the influx of
31:09
new blood to replace the older Czechs.
31:11
A marked decline in the number of first generation checks in
31:15
Nebraska began in the 1940s. The Establishment.
31:19
Of an independent Republic of Czechoslovakia at the end of
31:22
World War One was another, perhaps more psychological
31:25
reason for declining interest in the retention of Czech culture
31:29
in the United States. For many older Czechs it was the
31:33
climax of their sentimental involvement with their native
31:36
country dominated at the time of their departure by the Germans.
31:40
With the Habsburgs gone and the country free, Czech Americans
31:45
felt their role in the Czech struggle for freedom had come to
31:48
an end. They had proved their devotion
31:51
to the country of their birth by providing material, political
31:54
and moral support to the leaders of Czechoslovakia resistance
31:58
abroad and by volunteering by the thousands to join the
32:01
American Expeditionary Force during the war.
32:04
Now, with Mazurik, who epitomized the noble ideas of
32:08
Czech historical struggle at the helm of the democratic
32:11
Czechoslovakia, Czech Americans experienced a sense of relief
32:15
and deep gratitude to their adopted land for the opportunity
32:18
to participate in this struggle and its successful outcome.
32:24
Finally, intermarriage between Czech and non Czechs proved a
32:27
very effective means for assimilation and acculturation.
32:32
Generally, the only solution for both the parents and the
32:35
children in such marriages was to accept American attitudes
32:39
from the outset to prevent conflicts.
32:42
The effect of the Czech assimilation pattern becomes
32:45
progressively more evident as the history of Czech life in
32:48
America lengthens. Nebraska is no exception.
32:52
The decline in use of the Czech language has already been
32:55
mentioned. It resulted in the gradual
32:57
phasing out of Czech language books, newspapers, and
33:00
periodicals. Another example may be seen in
33:03
the disappearance of Czech plays formerly presented by amateur
33:06
dramatic clubs in many Nebraska communities.
33:10
Declining usage of the Czech language as a common means of
33:13
communication among Nebraska Czechs has contributed to the
33:17
demise of other cultural forms. It helped to change the
33:20
ideological and spiritual contents of institutions that,
33:24
for reasons of their own, either survived or on occasion were
33:28
revived by efforts of a few dedicated individuals.
33:32
Only a few. Nebraska social chapters are
33:35
active today. The object of the present day
33:38
circle is quote, physical, mental, and moral development of
33:41
young men and women in accordance with the civic and
33:44
progressive patriotic principles toward attaining the highest
33:47
standards of American citizenship regardless of their
33:50
ancestry. End Quote.
33:52
Even the modern. Day Circle, open to everyone, is
33:55
apparently not able to prevent loss of membership.
33:59
There is simply not enough appeal in its traditional
34:01
program and the competition from other sports related
34:05
organizations is strong. A similar argument.
34:08
Applies to almost all other traditional activities brought
34:11
into existence by and for the social and economic benefit of
34:15
first generation checks. Nevertheless, Czech heritage
34:18
remains alive in present day Nebraska.
34:22
Americanization has not meant a total obliteration of the ethnic
34:25
cultural pattern of which Nebraska checks are apart, and
34:29
it has not prevented a continuation of activities
34:32
aiming at the retention of that identity.
34:35
The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generations have, by continual
34:39
adjustment to the needs of the prevailing society, develop new
34:43
sensitivities regarding their cultural heritage.
34:47
In the early 1960s, descendants of Nebraska, Czech pioneers and
34:50
immigrants LED a revival of cultural identity, fostered in
34:54
part by a new interest in folklore and genealogy.
34:58
This revival, marked by festivals, culture, clubs and
35:02
museums, is now in its fourth decade.
35:05
Whatever the future. May bring Nebraska Czechs, like
35:08
all Czech Americans, will be remembered for their love of
35:12
liberty, their American patriotism, and their efforts to
35:15
retain some of their old World Heritage.
35:19
Thank you for listening to the Nebraska History Podcast.
35:22
To learn more about Nebraska History Magazine, to listen to
35:25
more podcast episodes, or to support our podcast by becoming
35:28
a member of the Nebraska State Historical Society, go to
35:31
history.nebraska.gov/podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to
35:36
the podcast and get notified when we release new episodes on
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your favorite podcast platform. Until next time, I'm Chris
35:43
Goforth.