A History of the Czechoslovak Ocean Shipping Company, 1948--1989: How a Small, Landlocked Country Ran Maritime Business During the Cold War

by Lenka Krátká

Overview

This book offers a comprehensive history of the Czechoslovak Ocean Shipping Company (C. O. S.) from its beginning in the late 1940s until the fall of communism. Owned by the Czechoslovak state, C. O. S.'s activities were shaped by Soviet standards. This unique study is structured according to the different phases of the Cold War and highlights the political aspects that determined C. O. S.'s fate. Lenka Kratka focuses on two contradictory economic dimensions that C. O. S. had to engage with. Being part of the planned economy of a socialist state, it also dealt with companies in the capitalist West. Another paradoxical aspect of C. O. S. emerges from the memories of former Czechoslovak seamen, who experienced relative freedom when being aboard and strict communist regime control while at home with their families. Kratka's book offers fascinating insights into a neglected topic, using thus far untapped sources and building on primary research in oral history and personal memory.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783838267166
Publisher:	MANSUETO V
Publication date:	08/01/2014
Series:	Fairy Tales #03 , #146
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	709 KB

About the Author

Lenka Krátká is a researcher at the Centre of Oral History at the Czech Academy of Sciences and lectures at Charles University in Prague.

ibidem Press

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
1. Introduction: Maritime business in landlocked Czechoslovakia as a research topic
2. Prologue: First attempts to run the maritime business after World War I
3. 1950s: From the foundation of the People's Republic of China to the foundation of the Czechoslovak Ocean Shipping company
4. 1960s: From the Caribbean Crisis to the mutiny on the ship Kladno
5. 1970s: The transition from ideological tasks to business tasks
6. 1980s: From a drop in earnings to fleet renewal
7. Epilogue: Czechoslovak and Czech maritime business after the Velvet Revolution
8. Seafarers' lives and memories
9. Ship memoirs
10. Conclusion: Four decades of Czechoslovak shipping in a nutshell
List of archival resources and interviews
Summary in Czech and German

Editorial Reviews

Lenka Kratka offers a remarkable, comprehensive piece of work on the history of the Czechoslovak Ocean Shipping (C.O.S.) company. Her book is really unique since the history of the C.O.S. and of Czechoslovak maritime business in general are among the research topics least reflected in Czech historiography. She writes with talent and erudition.

Miroslav Vaněk

Lenka Kratka offers a remarkable, comprehensive piece of work on the history of the Czechoslovak Ocean Shipping (C.O.S.) company. Her book is really unique since the history of the C.O.S. and of Czechoslovak maritime business in general are among the research topics least reflected in Czech historiography. She writes with talent and erudition.

Miroslav Vanek

Lenka Kratka's book opens the Iron Curtain to explore the reality of Czechoslovakia's Ocean Shipping. Seamen have always been linked to legends and stereotypes. This book enables the reader to understand what is truth and what is just nice fiction. A particularly interesting and fascinating part in the book is devoted to life-stories of seafarers. It is highly recommended to all travellers and dreamers but at the same time has an incredible value for academic researchers in history.

Kristine Ante