From Communist to Counterrevolutionary: The Life Journey of Prague Intellectual Pavel Kohout

• In Event: Memory and Exile: World War II and Cold War, Czechoslovak and Hungarian Examples

Abstract

Pavel Kohout is a fascinating Czech poet, novelist, playwright, and journalist whose activities from the post-World War II period until the present day indicate an intellectual transformation in accordance with the changing fortunes of his native land. Initially a diehard supporter of the Communist takeover, Kohout became disillusioned in the 1950s and, in the 1960s, became a leading proponent of liberalization. He played a leading role in the Prague Spring of 1968. Following the Soviet invasion, Kohout became a dissident and was one of the leading figures behind the genesis of the opposition movement Charter 77. After a brief sojourn in Vienna, the Communist authorities prevented Kohout from returning to Czechoslovakia in 1979 and stripped him of his citizenship. He remained in Vienna until the collapse of Communism, after which he returned home. This paper will discuss Kohout's transformation.

Author

• Francis D. Raska, Charles U in Prague (Czech Republic)