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So there is assumption that 20 something year old, living with information propaganda portraying West as class-divided, colonial enemy, should somehow know the

So there is assumption that 20 something year old, living with information propaganda portraying West as class-divided, colonial enemy, should somehow know the 'enemy' spy was a good guy? Especially considering this Dvoracek case was in the 50s with communists just emerging victorious against horrors of fascism making it quite easy to sell the story of social unity and equality. I imagine many young Czeck people would have bought into this way of life during the early communist rule before oppression became more obvious. Can we judge them for it?

TeMPOraL 3y ago
FWIW, a good chunk od western intellectual elite bought into communism as well, and this state lasted for half a century or more, way into 1950s.
cafard 3y ago
First, doesn't this assume that Dvoracek was in fact a spy, deserter, etc.? Second, should we give Lewis Strauss a pass for his treatment of Oppenheimer on account of the Cold War? (Edit: I know nothing about the Dvoracek case, having heard the name only just now.)
morbicer 3y ago
It's very hard to judge someone young and naive in the 50s from today's point of view. On the other hand, Kundera was an intellectual. For some uneducated it could have been waved away as nescience, but not for him. The criminal nature of the regime was not hidden. It put people in labor camps (a sentence which was often deadly) just for being a clergyman, a hero WW2 pilot liberating Europe or just for having homestead. It banned writers and other artists. On the other hand, the judicial murder of Milada Horakova [1] which I believe might have opened eyes to many hasn't happened yet, trailing Dvoracek's arrest just by few months. Like I am disgusted by some of the effects of modern unbridled capitalism but I would not support any movement that restricts the liberty of fellow humans in such way. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milada_Hor%C3%A1kov%C3%A1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milada_Hor%C3%A1kov%C3%A1
fransje26 3y ago
> was in the 50s with communists just emerging victorious against horrors of fascism If by "emerging victorious" you mean forcefully taking power with a Coup, ready to perpetrate their own horrors to stay in power at all cost, then we agree.. Also considering that the communists were backed by the Soviets, with decades of mass-purges of their own, it possibly didn't take much imagination to understand the type of regime being supported. > I imagine many young Czeck people would have bought into this way of life So much so that the communists need a coup to gain power.

TeMPOraL 3y ago

FWIW, a good chunk od western intellectual elite bought into communism as well, and this state lasted for half a century or more, way into 1950s.

cafard 3y ago

First, doesn't this assume that Dvoracek was in fact a spy, deserter, etc.? Second, should we give Lewis Strauss a pass for his treatment of Oppenheimer on account of the Cold War? (Edit: I know nothing about the Dvoracek case, having heard the name only just now.)

morbicer 3y ago

It's very hard to judge someone young and naive in the 50s from today's point of view. On the other hand, Kundera was an intellectual. For some uneducated it could have been waved away as nescience, but not for him. The criminal nature of the regime was not hidden. It put people in labor camps (a sentence which was often deadly) just for being a clergyman, a hero WW2 pilot liberating Europe or just for having homestead. It banned writers and other artists. On the other hand, the judicial murder of Milada Horakova [1] which I believe might have opened eyes to many hasn't happened yet, trailing Dvoracek's arrest just by few months. Like I am disgusted by some of the effects of modern unbridled capitalism but I would not support any movement that restricts the liberty of fellow humans in such way. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milada_Hor%C3%A1kov%C3%A1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milada_Hor%C3%A1kov%C3%A1

fransje26 3y ago

> was in the 50s with communists just emerging victorious against horrors of fascism If by "emerging victorious" you mean forcefully taking power with a Coup, ready to perpetrate their own horrors to stay in power at all cost, then we agree.. Also considering that the communists were backed by the Soviets, with decades of mass-purges of their own, it possibly didn't take much imagination to understand the type of regime being supported. > I imagine many young Czeck people would have bought into this way of life So much so that the communists need a coup to gain power.