Jaroslav Krejčí (13 February 1916 – 16 February 2014) was a Czech-

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

sociologist, historian, economist and former professor of sociology at

Lancaster University Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...

. Krejčí was born on 13 February 1916 in Polešovice,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

(the present-day

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

). He studied law. Krejčí's father, Jaroslav Krejčí, held office as the Prime Minister of the German- occupied

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was a partially-annexation, annexed territory of Nazi Germany that was established on 16 March 1939 after the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945), German occupation of the Czech lands. The protector ...

from 1942 to 1945. In contrast to his father's collaboration, Jaroslav Krejčí opposed the

German occupation of Czechoslovakia German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and became actively involved in the Czech resistance during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Krejčí joined the Josef Hlavka National Economic Institute after the end of the war. He openly opposed the merger of the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party, to which he was a member, into

Communist Party of Czechoslovakia The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia ( Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Com ...

following the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état. In 1954, he was sentenced to ten years in prison on charges of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

for his opposition to the Communist Party. He was released from prison in 1960 as part of an amnesty. He and his wife immigrated to the United Kingdom following the

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The ...

in 1968, which had crushed the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

. Krejčí became a professor of sociology at

. He taught in the university's Departments of French Studies, German Studies and Religious Studies from 1969 until 1983. Much of his research focused on history and the formation of civilization from a macrosociological approach. He returned to Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic following the fall of communism to teach at

Charles University in Prague Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

and Palacký University, Olomouc, as well as the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. He founded the Anna and Jaroslav Krejčí Research Endowment Fund in 2006 to support individuals engaged in the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

. In 1998, President Václav Havel awarded Krejčí the Medal of Merit. Lancaster University also honored him with an honorary doctorate in 2000. Jaroslav Krejčí died in

Lancaster, Lancashire Lancaster (, ) is a city in Lancashire, England, and the main cultural hub, economic and commercial centre of City of Lancaster district. The city is on the River Lune, directly inland from Morecambe Bay. Lancaster is the county town, although ...

, United Kingdom, on 16 February 2014 at the age of 98.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krejci, Jaroslav 1916 births 2014 deaths People from Uherské Hradiště District People from the Margraviate of Moravia Academic staff of Charles University Czech sociologists 20th-century Czech historians Academics of Lancaster University Czech resistance members Czech anti-communists Prisoners and detainees of Czechoslovakia People convicted of treason against Czechoslovakia Czechoslovak emigrants to the United Kingdom Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic) Academic staff of Palacký University Olomouc