Gottland – Szczygiel Mariusz (2018)

This is a new, revised edition of the bestseller by a renowned Polish reporter about the modern history of our country, in which he attempts to understand the Czech national character through the stories of both well-known and lesser-known personalities, all from the unbiased perspective of a foreigner. He uses the fates of the Baťa family; Lída Baarová, the woman who made even Goebbels weep; Otakar Švec, the creator of the largest Stalin monument on Earth, who took his own life just before its unveiling; Jan Procházka, an icon of the Prague Spring, who was hounded by the communists; translator Věra Saudková, a cousin of Franz Kafka who lived until recently; Marta Kubišová, who became a symbol of the Czechs' desire for freedom in 1968; Eduard Kirchberger, who adapted to the regime change after February 1948 with a new name and new works; Jan Zajíc, the second torch, and Jaroslava Moserová, who cared for his predecessor Jan Palach before his death. The perspective on Karel Gott, whose fans worship him more than God, is not overlooked either. The author succeeds, sometimes with humor and irony, in capturing the behavioral patterns that repeat in Czech society and that shape the often tragic lives of entire generations. There are few books that expose totalitarian regimes in the Czech Republic with greater force and impact.