State Security and the Swastika Epidemic in Czechoslovakia

• In Event: Emigration, Collectivization, and Desecration: The State Management of Jewish (and Israeli) Affairs in Global Perspective

Abstract

A spate of Jewish cemetery desecrations spread from West Germany in 1959 to dozens of countries in 1960 and beyond. Vandals painted swastikas on gravestones and other surfaces, terrifying Jewish communities and presenting challenges to local and national governments, including their police forces. This paper explores how Czechoslovak State Security conceptualized and responded to the unique, local manifestation of this global problem, which included pairings of swastikas, Jewish stars, and hammers-and-sickles. This combination suggested that perpetrators had adapted the meaning and manner of their participation in a global phenomenon to domestic political and cultural matters. In addition to investigation reports, this paper will rely on materials from the Czechoslovak Jewish communities for internal use and also public consumption.

Author

• Jacob Ari Labendz, Ramapo College of New Jersey