Memoirs and Reflections

The memoirs and reflections of a long-serving high-ranking official of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and former Czechoslovak prime minister offer a personal testimony, the likes of which are rare in our contemporary political literature. For historians, this text will serve to correct or confirm their research; for those who remember, it will recall their own lives with both their bright and dark sides; and for young history enthusiasts, it will reveal the perspective of a direct participant in events that are slowly being covered by the sands of time.

One thing, however, is most important – the author has decided to publicly describe his long political life, his attitudes, and his stances in the complex circumstances of post-war Czechoslovakia, without hiding behind anonymous party and state documents or the “collective” voice of the era. In doing so, he also publicly acknowledges his responsibility for his own actions and decisions.

Politicians' memoirs are not typically scientific documents. Personal sympathies and antipathies, bitterness and pride, a desire for recognition and a fear of malicious misinterpretations always accompany such books. However, Lubomír Štrougal's text has another unique quality in our context – it partly substitutes for the incomprehensibly absent, scholarly monographs on the leading figures of Czechoslovakia after 1948. The author, however, had no such ambition. As is clear from the text, he wanted to contribute to the discussion about the modern history of this country and its context.

In the process, he has also managed to capture the interest of the “non-expert” reader by offering a direct view of the life and events of an era that millions of people still remember very well.