The Origins of the Czechoslovak Oriental Languages School: The Oriental Institute in Prague during the Second World War

Abstract

During the Second World War the Oriental Institute played an important role in the history of Czechoslovak Oriental studies. It primarily took the credit for maintaining the continuity of Oriental studies after the Czech-language universities in the Protectorate were closed down in November 1939. The survival and functioning of the institute in this difficult period, along with the particular way it was funded (by grants from the Ministry of Education) is the focus of this article. In particular, it will clarify the status of this institute, its scope of operation, the changes in its administration, and its extraordinary ability to maintain, and even create, language courses during one of the most repressive periods in Czech academia. It will show how this success paved the way for the postwar creation of the influential Oriental Languages School that would train the men and women in oversaw Communist Czechoslovakia’s relations with the North Africa, the Middle East and Asia.