Annotation of the publication
The main topics of the Czech-English publication are the surveillance units of the State Security Service and photographs of historical personalities, important events and places taken by their employees during the communist regime. For example, the surveillance actions of the secret police against Václav Havel, Pavel Kohout, Jan Patoček, František Cardinal Tomášek, František Kriegl, Jan Werich and Western diplomats are presented. The structures of the Administration monitored by the StB, its staff, chiefs and collaborators are also described. The service career of Antonín Kavan, who headed the surveillance unit for several decades, is presented. Attention is also paid to the intelligence technology used by the StB Surveillance Administration. The classified locations from where the secret police personnel monitored selected objects are described. The publication is based on a plenary exhibition prepared jointly by the Museum of Memory of the XXth Century and Museum Kampa in cooperation with the Security Forces Archive and Prague City Tourism.
Annotation of the publication
The present Czech-English publication publication focuses on the State Security (StB) Surveillance Administration and photographs of notable personalities, important events and places taken by its employees during the Communist regime. For example, the surveillance operations of the State Security against Vaclav Havel, Pavel Kohout, Jan Patočka, Cardinal František Tomášek, František Kriegel, Jan Werich and Western diplomats are presented here. The structures of the Surveillance Administration, its staff, commanders and collaborators are also described, and the service career of Antonin Kavan, who headed the StB Surveillance Administration for several decades, is presented. Further to this, attention is paid to the intelligence technologies used by the StB Surveillance Administration. Last but not least, the secret locations ('footholds') from which the secret police monitored selected people and events are described here. The publication is based on the open-air exhibition organised jointly by the Twentieth Century Memorial Museum and Museum Kampa in cooperation with the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, the Security Forces Archive and Prague City Tourism.
The catalogue was published for the exhibition, which took place in Prague from 12 September to 6 December 2023.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA:
title: Oči Státní bezpečnosti / Eyes of the State Security
editor: Petr Blažek
authors: Petr Blažek, Vít Fojtek, Jan Kalous, Radek Schovánek, Prokop Tomek, Miroslav Urbánek, Kryštof Zeman
Publisher: Museum of Memory XX. Museum Kampa - Jan and Meda Mládek Foundation
Translation of texts into English: Tomáš Hausner
Graphic design: Matěj Bárta
Number of pages: 172
ISBN: 978-80-87344-71-2 (Museum Kampa - Jan and Meda Mládek Foundation), 978-80-908765-5-2 (Museum of Memory of the XXth Century)
Presentation of the publication Eyes of the State Security 9 October 2023 (invitation)
Presentation of the publication Eyes of the State Security 9 October 2023 (photo gallery)