About that Benes guy

Edvard Beneš has been dead for more than three quarters of a century, yet he remains the subject of as much debate and controversy as any other modern Czech politician. He was instrumental in the establishment of the first Czechoslovak state in 1918, but twice (in 1938 and 1945-1948) he also contributed to the demise of democracy in this country. Is he the culprit responsible for the fact that many people in this country still find it difficult to relate to democracy? Will we argue endlessly about whether a state with so many minorities was conceived as viable, whether we should have defended ourselves instead of Munich, whether it was right to expel the Germans, whether it was right to orient the state towards the Soviet Union instead of the West, etc.? Kosatík's book, based on a thorough study of the material, is intended for the general public. The author believes that we can get rid of the traumas associated with Beneš's name, not repeat the mistakes of the past and create a better relationship to the state than the one we have inherited - and therefore he tries to create a new view of the hero, without prejudice.