Reconcilee is a
neologism
A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...
for the
Czech language, Czech word "''upravenec''" (pl. "''upravenci''") which denotes an ''
émigré
An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French ''émigrer'', "to emigrate".
French Huguenots
Many French Huguenots fled France followi ...
'' from
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
who subsequently "reconciled" his or her relationship with the Communist régime.
The origins
From 1948 until the end of the régime, unauthorized
migration
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
from Czechoslovakia was a
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...
. Between 1945 and 1987 172,659 people went into
exile
Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
. After the
Helsinki Accords
The Helsinki Final Act, also known as Helsinki Accords or Helsinki Declaration was the document signed at the closing meeting of the third phase of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) held in Helsinki, Finland, between ...
, the Communist establishment wished to show some kind of mitigation of the thus far harsh attitude towards ''émigrés''. Directive No. 4/1977
Official Journal
A government gazette (also known as an official gazette, official journal, official newspaper, official monitor or official bulletin) is a periodical publication that has been authorised to publish public or legal notices. It is usually establis ...
of the
Czech Socialist Republic
The Czech Socialist Republic ( cs, Česká socialistická republika, ČSR) was a republic within the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. The name was used from 1 January 1969 to November 1989, when the previously unitary Czechoslovak state changed ...
, ''On Reconciliation Legal Relationships of Czechoslovak Socialist Republic to Citizens Who Stay Abroad Without a Permit of Czechoslovak Authorities'', was adopted. Hence the term "''upravenec''".
Categories
In 1980 there were 115,000 ''émigrés''. Directives stipulated two categories of reconcilees:
# those who wished to stay permanently abroad as
citizen
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
s of Czechoslovakia (art. 3–5; 3,145 persons applied), or
# those who wished cessation of citizenship of Czechoslovakia (art. 6–8; 4,533 applied).
A prerequisite to receive a status of ''upravenec'' was an application for a pardon of conviction for illegal emigration (12,486 applied) or being amnestied. Applicants had to pay large sums (officially the cost of education) and after reconciliation were allowed to visit Communist Czechoslovakia with no obstacles.
Those who wished to
return
Return may refer to:
In business, economics, and finance
* Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense.
* Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment
* Tax return, a blank document or t ...
to Czechoslovakia (art. 2 — first category; 452 persons applied) were called "''navrátilci''" (''returnees''). Directives also identified a further category of ''émigrés'' —
enemies of the Communist régime (art. 9–12). These were deprived of Czechoslovak citizenship and prohibited from visiting Czechoslovakia. (They thus could not be ranked among returnees or reconcilees.)
Controversy
The unsuspendable condition for reconciliation was "good or neutral relationship" towards the Communist régime. ''Upravenci'' were therefore disliked by much of the rest of the exile community and called collaborators. Most reconcilees hid their reconciliation, and speculative accusation of being a ''upravenec'' was considered a slur. The famous Czech author
Josef Škvorecký
Josef Škvorecký (; September 27, 1924 – January 3, 2012) was a Czech-Canadian writer and publisher. He spent half of his life in Canada, publishing and supporting banned Czech literature during the communist era. Škvorecký was awarded the ...
wrote
satiric
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
short stories about them. Hard-line ''émigrés'' speculated that ''upravenci'' were confidants of the Communist
secret police
Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of a ...
.
References
{{Wikisourcelang, cs, Úprava vztahů ČSSR k občanům v zahraničí, Directive On Reconciliation Legal Relationships of Czechoslovak Socialist Republic to Citizens Who Stay Abroad Without a Permit of Czechoslovak Authorities (in Czech)
# Directive No. 4/1977 Official Journal of the Czech Socialist Republic
On Reconciliation Legal Relationships of Czechoslovak Socialist Republic to Citizens Who Stay Abroad Without a Permit of Czechoslovak Authorities p. 1 (
JPEG
JPEG ( ) is a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography. The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and imag ...
; Czech)
# Directive No. 4/1977 Official Journal of the Czech Socialist Republic
On Reconciliation Legal Relationships of Czechoslovak Socialist Republic to Citizens Who Stay Abroad Without a Permit of Czechoslovak Authorities p. 2 (JPEG; Czech)
# Directive No. 4/1977 Official Journal of the Czech Socialist Republic
On Reconciliation Legal Relationships of Czechoslovak Socialist Republic to Citizens Who Stay Abroad Without a Permit of Czechoslovak Authorities p. 3 (JPEG; Czech)
# Directive No. 4/1977 Official Journal of the Czech Socialist Republic
On Reconciliation Legal Relationships of Czechoslovak Socialist Republic to Citizens Who Stay Abroad Without a Permit of Czechoslovak Authorities p. 4 (JPEG; Czech)
# Jan Hanzlík
Czechoslovak emigration seen by secret materials In Sborník Securitas Imperii 9 (doc; Czech)
# Pavel Jacko
(Czech)
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
Human migration
Neologisms
*
*
*
Eastern Bloc defectors
Communist terminology