Rozpolcená doba, rozptýlené životy za druhé světové války a studeného míru

Historian and anthropologist Daniela Spenser has crafted a personal account of Czechoslovak history from the 1930s to the 1990s based on her own family’s experiences. The author strives to provide an objective account of historical events as reflected in the lives of her grandparents, who were victims of the Holocaust. She focuses primarily on the life story of her mother, translator Ruth Toseková, and her husband, the prominent editor and journalist Vladimír Tosek. Both were active participants in social life in the 1950s and 1960s and were actively involved in the events of the Prague Spring. After leaving Czechoslovakia, they moved in circles close to exile leaders, including Jiří Pelikán.
In its conclusion, the book also addresses the relationship between exiles and post-November 1989 Czech society. The author does not shy away from controversial topics, such as the documented collaboration of her relatives with the StB, though she does not pass judgment on them. Thanks to her careful study of sources and her ability to maintain a distance from the events she describes, Daniela Spenser succeeds in bringing together the so-called “small” and “big” histories of the 20th century.