From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/Czechs/Marek J. Jovanovic
The Czechs have traditionally placed great importance on education. This interest is in large part linked to the religious reform movement that originated with Jan Hus in the late fourteenth century and that reached its apogee in the work of the seventeenth-century Protestant activist and founder of modern education theory, Jan Amos Komenský/Comenius. By the last decades of the nineteenth century, the provinces of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia, from which Czechs began to emigrate in large numbers, had among the highest levels of literacy in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This educational legacy fostered both the strong sense of personal cultural identity and the practical skills that Czech immigrants brought to Canada.
The relatively high level of education among Czech immigrants to Canada has allowed them to accelerate their social and economic mobility, and, in addition, their educational standards and widespread literacy have enabled them to bring with them and retain their homeland culture, particularly in the areas of literature and drama. To this end, most Czech communities established parochial or weekend schools for their children that focused on Czech language, culture, and history. The earliest of these was a Protestant school at Kolin, Saskatchewan, established in 1902. After World War II, however, such schools suffered a marked decline. Most Czechs began to send their children to public or Roman Catholic schools, partly because of the emphasis on public education in Canada. The transmission of Czech culture therefore became less institutional and more community- or family-oriented. Because government and non-ethnic community services have increased over the past twenty years and in many cases have taken the place of ethnic institutions, many new Czech immigrants and second-generation Czech Canadians sometimes have little contact with Czech community organizations.
Czech cultural life in Canada is expressed in four areas: theatre, sports, music, and literature. The establishment of Czech settlements in Canada was usually followed by the formation of community groups that established bands, theatre groups, and a Czech-language library, often in association with the parish. These groups, such as the ones established in 1912 in the Kolin and Esterhazy areas of southeastern Saskatchewan, were probably the earliest Czech organizations in Canada. During the 1930s there appears to have been a Czech cultural revival in the prairies, in the old enclaves near the Esterhazy region. A Czech service club, the Kolin Good Companions, led by the Reverend Vaclavik of the Esterhazy United Church, was formed, with the aim of re-establishing Czech culture and language among the youth.
Perhaps the most enduring organization of the Czechs is the Sokol. Sokol means falcon, and the organization’s principal meetings are called slets (flights), terms that symbolize pride, strength, and majesty. First established in 1862 in Bohemia by Myroslav Tyrs, the Sokol was primarily a gymnastic society that also served to unite Czechs and Slovaks in common Slavic cultural and organizational solidarity within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Usually there were both male and female Sokols. The Sokol was strongly patriotic, so much so that in 1948 it was banned in the homeland because it was perceived to be a potential tool for anti-Communist subversion. Individual Sokols were linked, with the International Sokol Abroad and the American Sokol Organization serving as their major coordinating centres.
The first Sokols in Canada were established between 1912 and 1915 in Frank, Alberta; Crow’s Nest, Natal, and Michel, British Columbia; and Goldburg, Saskatchewan. These initially small organizations grew and formed a District of Czech Sokols Abroad (Czechoslovak Sokol Organization, 1919–48) that established branches in Montreal and Regina (1920s), Toronto (1931), and Batawa (1941). Continued growth between 1941 and 1970 brought Sokols to most Czech communities, including those in Windsor, Kitchener, and Ottawa, Ontario, and in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. The combined membership held periodic exhibitions as showcases both of pride and of athletic talent. Expo ’67 in Montreal had participants from Sokols all over the world. Although their enrolment has declined, Sokols continue to function in most Czech centres in Canada. The Czech love of sports has produced many talented athletes in Canada, among whom the most prestigious are a number of hockey players and the renowned figure skater Otto Jelinek, who later served as a federal cabinet minister.
Aside from the Sokols, the most notable Czech centres are the Masaryk Memorial Institute (Masaryk Hall), located in the picturesque community of Masaryktown in Scarborough, Ontario, and the Czechoslovak Benevolent Association in Winnipeg. The Masaryk Memorial Institute was founded in 1945 with the aid of charitable donations from both the Czech and Slovak communities. It maintains a modest Czech-language library with multimedia materials, holds heritage-language classes, operates a bookstore, and prints the biweekly newspaper, Novy domov (New Homeland; Scarborough, Ont., 1962–). Like Masaryk Hall, the venerable Czechoslovak Benevolent Society, established in Winnipeg in 1913, sponsors a language school and social and community activities, but since World War II it has largely abandoned its political activity to the Czechoslovak National Association. Both these associations, along with smaller local groups, hold a Czechoslovak Day each year, usually in July, as a national day of celebration to commemorate their cultural heritage. Another Czech arts organization is the Nové Divadlo (New Theatre) in Toronto. Nové Divadlo, which was established in 1962, presents occasional Czech theatre groups from Canada and abroad at the Colonnade Theatre.
An ancient proverb states that “each Czech is a musician at heart.” Czechs in Canada are no exception, and they take great pride in their musical heritage, which includes compositions by such masters as Bedrm ich Smetana, Antonín Dvorm ák, and Leoš Janácm ek. Many famous Czech musicians made their home in Canada, including conductor Walter Susskind, composer Oskar Morawetz, pianist Antonín Kubálek, and singer/actor Jan Rubes.
The Czechs are voracious consumers of literature, and Czechs in North America have published and distributed thousands of Czech-language books since the 1870s. The majority of Czech books available in Canada have been written or published either in the United States or in Europe. The first Czech and Slovak publishing enterprise in Canada, Canadian Publisher’s Weekly, was established in Winnipeg by a resourceful Bible salesman, Frank Dojaček, at the turn of the century. Dojaček distinguished himself in the building of Czech organizations in Canada, notably through his leadership of the Canadian Branch of the Bohemian (Czech) National Alliance of America, the Czechoslovak Benevolent Society, and the Czechoslovak Baptist Church (Winnipeg). More recent Czech books have been published by two Toronto publishing houses, the Masaryk Memorial Press and Czech-Canadian writer Josef Škvorecký ’s Sixty-Eight Press.
The mainstay of Czech literature in Canada has been its newspapers and periodicals. Roughly a dozen, published by religious, political, or socio-cultural organizations, have appeared in Canada. Religious periodicals include Vinice (The Vineyard; Winnipeg, 1930–50s) and Slavná nadeje (Great Hope; Windsor, 1974–78), both publications of the Czech Baptist Convention. The leading non-religious periodicals have primarily been based in the metropolitan Toronto region. Although many have long since disappeared because of the small number of readers, among the better known are Novy domov, Kanadské listy (Canadian Journal; Mississauga, 1953–55, 1973–), and Naše hlasy (Our Voices; Toronto, 1955–74). Certain journals, such as Bražda (The Furrow; Hamilton, 1960s), the publication of the Agrarian Party in exile, and the Palach v hlasatel (The Palach Herald; Toronto, 1973– ), were originally tailored to express Cold War anti-Communist political views, but they are now a forum for current political discussions both from the Czech Republic and from Canada. In addition to these newspapers and journals there are a number of smaller community and parish newsletters. There is little doubt that the homes of most Czech Canadians have a relatively healthy assortment of Czech-language reading materials on hand.
