Milan Hamada (9 September 1933 – 13 February 2023) was a Slovak literary theorist, historian, and critic. Hamada was born on 9 September 1933 in the village of Veľká, which has been a part of the city of Poprad since 1946. He was educated at the grammar school in Kežmarok and later studied Slovak and Russian language at the Comenius University, graduating in 1957.Milan Hamada. In: From 1959 to 1972 he worked as a researcher at the

Slovak Academy of Sciences The Slovak Academy of Sciences ( sk, Slovenská akadémia vied, or SAV) is the main scientific and research institution in Slovakia fostering basic and strategic basic research. It was founded in 1942, closed after World War II, and then reestab ...

.Hamada, m. In: His writings, in which he criticized ideological blindness and nationalism, significantly contributed to the intellectual underpinning of the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Sec ...

. Due to his staunch resistance to the

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...

in 1968, he faced persecution from the authorities and was not allowed to work in academia for much of the 1970s and 1980s. After the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

, he returned to the Academy of Sciences. From 1993 to his retirement in 2009 he also taught at the

University of Trnava The University of Trnava (in Trnava) ( sk, Trnavská univerzita v Trnave) is one of the oldest universities in Slovakia. It is based in Trnava, in the west of Slovakia. Historical university The original Jesuit university was founded in 1635 by ...

. In 2003 Hamada received the

Order of Ľudovít Štúr The Order of Ľudovít Štúr ( sk, Rad Ľudovíta Štúra) is the third highest Slovak state decoration (after the Order of the White Double Cross and the Orders, decorations, and medals of Slovakia#Andrej Hlinka Order, Order of Andrej Hlinka) ...

, 1st Class, from the president

Rudolf Schuster Rudolf Schuster (born 4 January 1934) is a Slovak politician, who served as the second president of Slovakia from 1999 to 2004. He was elected on 29 May 1999 and inaugurated on 15 June. In the presidential elections of April 2004, in which he sou ...

. Hamada died in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

on 13 February 2023, at the age of 89.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamada, Milan 1933 births 2023 deaths Comenius University alumni People from Poprad Slovak literary critics