Historie krušnohorského uranu v nesouměrné české a německé optice
The History of the Erzgebirge Uranium in an Asymmetric Czech-German Perspective

Summary/Abstract: The publication by Czech historian Zbyněk Zeman and his German colleague Rainer Karlsch "Na uranu záleží! Středoevropský uran v mezinárodní politice 1900–1960" is a translation of the English edition "Uranium Matters! Central European Uranium in International Politics, 1900–1960" (Budapest – New York, Central European University Press 2008). The original was published in German in 2002. As a result of this time gap, the work is, in some respects, outdated compared to current research. It deals with the history of mining and processing of uranium ore in the Erzgebirge region near the Czech-German border, but as the review points out, notin a comparative perspective. While the central Czech chapter mainly describes the forced labour camps, the life of political prisoners and the communist persecution associated with uranium mining in the Jáchymov mines after 1948, the parallel German chapter is more comprehensive and focuses on the activities of the Soviet uranium joint-stock company Wismut in the political and social context of the German Democratic Republic. Nevertheless, the merging of Czech and (East) German uranium history into one volume, from its very beginnings, and setting it into the context of international security policy, is considered by the reviewer as the book’s greatest contribution.

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