The fates of individuals clash with totalitarian power in these vibrant stories full of triumphs and defeats, grand heroic deeds, human failings and acceptance.

Comics

The collection contains thirteen riveting stories from recent Czech history rendered by thirteen excellent Czech and Slovak comic book artists. One of the main characters is Jiřina Tvrdíková. Through her story we find out what it’s like to “comb a white bear” but we also learn about the high numbers of Czechoslovak citizens imprisoned in Soviet gulags. The parents of another character, Rudolf Bělohoubek, were murdered in the vicinity of Beroun during the tumultuous post-war expulsion of the Germans. Then there are the stories set in the Normalization period. A secret police collaborator, who admits to his failings, features in Tomáš Kučerovský’s comics Chytřejší než oni (Smarter Than Them).

The original Czech edition won the prestigious Muriel award for the best Czech comic book of 2012.

More information in German on the official website.

Praise

“While under totalitarian regimes cartoons served as propaganda or were completely forced out of cultural and social life, today comic books prove that they can effectively convey even the most serious topics.”

—Tereza Drahoňovská, MF Dnes