Prizes Awarded to the Winners of the Czech History Competition 2023
The theme of this year's competition, "The Impact of World History on Personal History in the 20th Century", attracted a record number of entries. Competition organisers Tom Rett and Marcel Mahdal were delighted with the entries: "The record number of participants proves that the interest in modern history is an enthusiasm and passion that we share with you. The overwhelming majority of the work submitted was of value and contributed to a deeper understanding of the past.”
Given the high quality of the entries, the five-strong jury had a difficult task in selecting the ten best entries. The authors of the selected entries were invited to the awards ceremony on 22 September at the PANT Centre in Ostrava.
Given the high quality of the entries, the five-strong jury had a difficult task in selecting the ten best entries. The authors of the selected entries were invited to the award ceremony on 22 September 2023 at the PANT Centre in Ostrava.
The finalists had to present their work live on stage. A variety of different formats ranging from thesis’ presentations and online exhibitions to comics and films were showcased. Unfortunately, the competition’s new patron, Czech president Petr Pavel, was unable attend the ceremony.
Based on the presentations, the jury chose the final order and the best three entries. In addition to the main EUSTORY prize, three entries were also awarded the Eva Vláhová Prize. It is sponsored by "Daughters of 50's", an initiative of children of political prisoners in socialist Czechoslovakia. The prize is awarded to the three best works dealing with the fate of Czechoslovak citizens persecuted by the communist regime in the 1950s.
Vojtěch Klůc's entry was particularly successful. A student at the Secondary Industrial School in Ostrava, he researched the life story of František Bauer, a Sudeten German who fought as a young man in the British Royal Air Force during the Second World War. As well as winning the Vláhová Award, Klůc was also awarded first place in the 2023 EUSTORY competition by the jury.
Second place went to Barbora Horáková and Mikuláš Horák, who made a film about the life of Valtr Grossman. The third place was awarded to a team of students from the Losovice grammar school who curated an online exhibition on the life of the Czech dissident, publicist and curator Vladimír Drápal. The exhibition is available online: Osudy pamětníků - Vladimír Drápal (in Czech language only).
The other two Eva Vláhová Prizes were awarded to two research papers: one on the collectivisation of private property in the 1950s, the other on the influence of nuns in a village in north-west Czechia.
All finalists received book prizes, cash prizes and iPhones as first prizes. The tutors of the winning entries received a one-year subscription to the magazine Dějiny a současnot (History and the Present).
See Moderni Dejiny (in Czech only) for detailed information about the other finalists' works and more pictures from the awards ceremony.