Sartre and His Perception by Czech Intellectuals in 1960s

Abstract

The relationships between the power blocs during the Cold war have been researched by scholars. The question of the influence of Western ideas and representatives on the political thought in Czechoslovakia is still discussed. Although major differences were happening due to the work of institutions, their functioning was not possible without specific personalities. The aim of this thesis is to show how Jean-Paul Sartre and his arrival to Prague in 1960s did influence Czech intellectuals. The issue is approached by the review of the biography of the French philosopher, highlighting crucial events that linked him more with the Czechoslovak society, and then analyzing the way the Czech intellectuals reacted to his ideas and statements. Sartre was chosen as an intellectual who was uniting both, the East and the West, and went through a change of views, after the occurrence of several international events with the direct intervention of the USSR. Realistic views of the Czech representatives are facing relatively optimistic ideas of Sartre on the reformation of the Marxist ideology and preservation of it as the ruling one.