In the Shadow of Totalitarism: Sport and the Olympic Movement in the
"Visegrad" Countries
supported by Visegrad Fund
Number: 21020106
Duration: Januar 2011 - March 2012
Coordinator of Project: Faculty of Physical Education and Sport of Charles University
Research director: Prof. PhDr. Marek Waic CSc. - director of the Department of Kinanthropology,
Humanities and Sport Management at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport of Charles
University
Researches: PhDr. František Kolář, CSc. - Director of Olympic Studies and Information Center of
the Czech Olympic Committee, Assistant Prof. of Faculty of Physical Education and Sport of
Charles University
Mgr. Bc. Kristina Jakubcová – Posgraduate Student of Faculty of Physical Education and Sport of
Charles University
Partners:
1. Extramural Faculty of Physical Education in Gorzow Wlkp. of
The Eugeniusz Piasecki
University School of Physical Education in Poznan
Researchers: Prof. Dr. hab. Tomasz Jurek – Dean of Extramural Faculty of Physical Education in
Gorzow Wlkp.
Prof. Dr. hab. Bernard Woltmann, head of the Department of History of Olympism and Polish
Physical Culture
of Faculty of Physical Education in Gorzow Wlkp.
2. Prof. Dr. Katalin Szikora, Head of the Department of Social Science Faculty of Physical
Education and Sport Sciences, Semmelweis University;
3. Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava.
Researcher: Prof. PhDr. Miroslav Bobrík CSc., Head of the Department of Physical Education,
Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava.
Publications:
Monograph: In the Shadow of Totalitarianism: Sport and the Olympic Movement in the
"Visegrád" Countries. Prague : Charles University 2012 /in print/
Marek Waic et al.
Contens:
Preface
Marek Waic: Sport in Czechoslovakia 1945–1989
František Kolář: The Czechoslovak Olympic Movement 1945-1989
Tomasz Jurek: Sport and the Olympic Movement in Poland 1944-1989
Katalin Szikora: Sport and the Olympic Movement in Hungary 1945-1989
Summary:
The presented monograph brings both a comparative analysis and a synthetic view on the
development of sport, mainly of the Olympic movement, in the so called Visegrad countries. It
focuses mainly on the position and role of sport in the development of the totalitarian regimes of the
Central Europe. After the usurpation of the political power by the communists in Czechoslovakia,
Poland, and Hungary, both the sport and Olympic movement were quite fast put into the service of
the communist ideology and politics. The sport politization in the Soviet block countries has
strengthened after the Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952. The USSR representants were very
successful at their first Olympic appearance, while 16 gold, 10 silver, and 16 bronze medals were
also the best Olympic result of the Hungarian sportsmen. This excellent result made born the theory
that the sport successes prove the qualities of the social system in question, i.e. of communism.
Sport was supposed to become one of the main propagandistic aces in the cold war, and therefore
mostly the highest level sport was supported and constantly controlled by the regimes. Since the end
of 1940’s, sport was centralized, and e.g. in Poland, it was directly controlled by the state organs.
This Soviet model was accepted in the highest personality cult time, in the beginning of the 1950’s.
In 1975, this system was changed in Czechoslovakia, but of course, the communists kept the control
over sport.
The research has proved also interesting differences in the development of sport and of the Olympic
movement in the individual countries. The Polish sport kept its national mission, which is proved by
the text “Poland” on the Polish sportsmen’ jerseys and by the special institution of the Polish
games, co-organized by the Polish Olympic Committee and by the Association for the Expatriate
Poles.
The emigration accompanies the development of sport in all the studied countries, it appears
continuously, but it is at its highest level at the time of the anti-communist appraisal in 1956 and
after the five armies’ invasion into Czechoslovakia in August 1968. At these historical moments,
the public of both mentioned countries understand the sport successes at the 1956 Melbourne
Olympics and in 1968 Mexico City as a symbol of the resistance against the hated Soviet occupants.
The common research of the Czech, Slovak, Polish, and Hungarian historian shows the multi-level
social role of sport in the Central Europe in the time when its major part was subjected by the
communist regimes.
Articles:
Jakubcová, K.:Olympism in Poland in System of communist Sport and his Rennaisance after
1989. In.: Acta universitatis Carolinae Kinanthropologica. 2011 /in print/
Jakubcová, K: Proměny maďarského sportu a olympijského hnutí v kontextu společenských změn
po druhé světové válce. In.: Studia Kinanthropologica. 2011 /in print/
Konference:
The international conference In the Shadow of Totalitarianism: Sport and the Olympic Movement
in Countries of Central Europe 1945-1989, attended by all the researchers and other historians
from Germany and Austria, took place on September 4th. Among the guests taking part in it were
the president of the Visegrad Fund Petr Vágner, dean of the FTVS Vladimír Süss, vicepresident of
the Czech Olympic Committee Josef Dovalil, seven lecturers (historians from Czech Republic,
Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Germany) and other participants – historians of sport – from the
universities in Olomouc, Hradec Králové, Vienna and students of the FTVS UK.
Project Results:
All the planned objectives were fulfilled:
The research has provided new knowledge primarily thanks to the use of archival documents that
haven’t been studied before by historians. It revealed many common features of the development of
sport and the Olympic Movement in the Visegrad countries during the communist regimes. It
significantly enriched European historiography of sports and methodology, especially in the field of
comparative history.
Results of the research will certainly enrich the lectures on history of sport at the studies of physical
education and sport in all countries of the "Visegrad Four".
The research helped in propagation of the contribution of the V4 countries to the development of
the modern Olympic movement and of the Central European notion of body among wider European
expert public.
Expected follow-up in further research: In March 2012, a new scientific grant application on
The Sport’s Contribution to the Creation of Modern Society in Central Europe - Common past of
sport in Visegrad countries. Common future? was submitted for another support by the Visegrad
fund.