Compatriots in Belgian Mining Village Winterslag in the Interwar Period in Memories of Karel Svoboda Cover Image

Krajané v belgické hornické obci Winterslag v období mezi dvěma světovými válkami ve vzpomínkách Karla Svobody
Compatriots in Belgian Mining Village Winterslag in the Interwar Period in Memories of Karel Svoboda

Author(s): Sylva Sklenářová
Subject(s): History
Published by: Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci
Keywords: Belgium; mining; Kempen; Winterslag; Czechoslovak compatriots; interwar period

Summary/Abstract: Czechoslovak compatriots in Belgium in interwar period were primarily situated in mining areas. The development of mining in Belgium largely depended on foreign workers because the country did not dispose of enough labour force willing to work in this profession. One of the areas, where a great number of compatriots lived, was the region of Kempen. Here, next to coal mine Winterslag, new residential districts aroused, which served to accommodate both home and foreign workers and their families. Karel Václav Svoboda was born there in 1926 and spent his childhood in this place. The outbreak of the Second World War forced his family to leave his, until that time, only home and return to homeland that he did not know. In Winterslag he also visited a Czechoslovak foreign school, which was established in 1932 and enabled to children of compatriots not to forget their native tongue. His parents were active in Sokol and compatriotic activities.

  • Issue Year: XLII/2017
  • Issue No: 52
  • Page Range: 131-147
  • Page Count: 17
  • Language: Czech
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