I was in Žilina the other day at the opening of the 5th Literature Festival. During a discussion someone asked me how I see the splitting up of Czechoslovakia today. I said I regard the birth of an independent Slovakia as a success story of Czech policies. My joke make the audience smile. But really, it has only just dawned on me. It was definitely the result of Czech policies – and what is wrong with that? Nothing, meaning it is a success story. Back in 1992, when I first heard talk of the split, it made me very […]

My life began in the Reichsprotektorat Böhmen und Mähren and I am likely to end my days in the Czech Republic.  As it happens, at the start and at the end of my life there it was an entity from which Slovakia has been cut off. However, the majority of my life took place in Czechoslovakia. Does that make me feel a Czech or a Czechoslovak? I would say that things are more complicated, especially in my case. Let me explain. My grandfather on my mother’’s side was a Ukrainian. His name was Žyla and he was the grandson of […]