Miloslav Rechcigl Sr. (13 May 1904 – 27 May 1973) was a Czech politician, miller, business executive and editor for

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Biography

Rechcigl was born in Chocnějovice near

Mladá Boleslav Mladá Boleslav (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. It lies on the left bank of the Jizera (river), Jizera River. Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region. I ...

in the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

(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 ...

) on 13 May 1904. He was an active member of the Agrarian Party of Czechoslovakia before the World War II. In 1935 he was elected to the Czechoslovak

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as its youngest member. In this capacity, he devoted his energies to economic problems, and served on several committees, relating to

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

and

commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...

, and

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

.Mladoboleslavsko v promenách casu. Praha: Libri, 1997, p. 168. He was a reporter for

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

agreements for a number of countries, and for agricultural trade issues, in general. The occupation of the country by the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

interrupted Rechcigl's political career. In spite of his active involvement in the underground

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through ei ...

against the Nazis, as a non-communist political figure he became a target of persecution after the

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

takeover in 1948.Miloslav Rechcigl, Sr. (1904-1973). Papers, http://www.ihrc.umn.edu/about/pr/dec17-02.html Obituaries: in Denni Hlasatel (Chicago), May 31, 1973; also in Washington Post and Herald Tribune After two failed attempts by the

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to arrest him while he was hospitalized with a serious illness, he illegally crossed the border to Germany in May 1948. After some time in a

Displaced persons camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displace ...

in Germany, he went to Paris, where he became a member of the Executive Committee of the Council of Free Czechoslovakia. In February 1950, he arrived in the United States, where, after several years of manual work in New York City, he joined

as chief editor of the Czechoslovak agricultural program. In 1956 he was transferred from New York to

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. In 1970, he returned to the United States, where he died as a US

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on 27 May 1973. Before entering the political scene, he operated a family flour mill in his native village, which he managed for his father from the age of 22, upon graduating from the

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

commercial academy. Two years later he assumed ownership of the mill and independently managed it, together with the adjacent farm. Since 1928, he worked in various professional organizations of millers, including the Millers’ Association, Trade Millers’ Alliance of Czechoslovakia, Czech Territorial Union of Millers and the Central Union of Millers in Czechoslovakia of which he became executive secretary. He also founded the Millers'

Cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

and became its vice president. In 1938, through his initiative, the supreme organization of Czechoslovak millers was established under the name Central Office of Czechoslovak Millers and he became its president.Ceskoslovenský biografický slovník. Praha: Encyklopedický institut CSAV - Academia, 1992, p. 589.Josef Tomes et al., Ceský biografický slovník XX. století. Praha: Paseka Petr Meissner, 1999, vol. 3, p. 27. Furthermore, he also worked in professional agricultural organizations and became a member of all such organizations in his district. He was a council member of the Czech Agricultural Board in

, chairman of its economic section, a member of the cultivator committee, and a member of the Central Office of Agricultural Board in Czechoslovakia. He became a member of the Czechoslovak Agricultural Academy and officer of

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

economists An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

. In addition, he held membership in the auditing committee for the County Farmers'

Savings Bank A savings bank is a financial institution that is not run on a profit-maximizing basis, and whose original or primary purpose is collecting deposits on savings accounts that are invested on a low-risk basis and receive interest. Savings banks ha ...

Mnichovo Hradiště Mnichovo Hradiště (; ) is a town in Mladá Boleslav District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic ...

. Rechcigl was vice-chairman of the water agricultural organization in his district and an officer of the Water Agricultural Union of Czechoslovakia, chairman of the Economic Council in

, executive secretary of the Economic Institute of

North Bohemia North Bohemia (, ) is a region in the north of the Czech Republic. Location North Bohemia roughly covers the present-day NUTS regional unit of ''CZ04 Severozápad'' and the western part of ''CZ05 Severovýchod''. From an administrative perspec ...

, and vice president of the Union of Economic Councils, as well as chairman of the Committee for Regulating the River Jizera and its tributaries. Rechcigl's extensive archival material has been deposited in the University of Minnesota'
Immigration History Research Center (IHRC)

Family

Rechcigl's son is

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

and former

Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences, until 1978 known as Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences in America, is an international non-profit organization with the aim to connect people with interest in Czech and Slovak intellectual contri ...

President Mila Rechcigl.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rechcigl, Miloslav 1904 births 1973 deaths People from Mladá Boleslav District People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Republican Party of Farmers and Peasants politicians Party of National Unity (Czechoslovakia) politicians Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Czechoslovakia (1935–1939) Czech journalists Czech resistance members Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States American people of Bohemian descent 20th-century journalists

Biography

Family

See also

References