sprostý prostý voják – was the soldier indecent, common, or both?
Here’s a contribution I made on a Czech genealogy forum that made me laugh. https://digi.ceskearchivy.cz/DA?menu=3&id=5647&page=124&lang=cs Adalbert Ssanda [Šanda) sprostý vojak zahradky od K.K. E H? C: Rainer ++ Linirr Infanterie Regimentu, 8 Compagniesyn Vacslava ssandy [šandy] chalupnika ze zahradký panství Vožickeho matky Marie dcery Vaclava Bednaře sedlaka z Bzový N 8 panství Vožick It turns…
“The Swell Season: A Text on the Most Important Things in Life” by Josef Škvorecký
I love my ancestors, and have always wished that I could go back in time, observe their world, and really know them. The second best thing to a time machine is a good novel. Actually, in some ways, the novel is better; you can usually get inside the head of the characters and really understand…
The Šnajberk Genealogy Saga: PART TWO
Guest Post by Lukáš SvobodaTranslated by Kate Challis and Lukáš SvobodaOriginal Post found here Actually, I’m not sure exactly what I was hoping to find in SOA Prague when I went there to look up Martin’s marriage record; of course there was not going to be anything that wouldn’t be in any ordinary marriage record, which…
A walk through Tichá
When my husband and I went to the Czech Republic last July, we stayed at the most awesome Airbnb in Tichá where we met some really lovely people who were basically a Czech version of us. I had not missed my children until I saw hers, and then of course, I missed mine like crazy….
The Doxology was Controversial
The Lord’s Prayer is also called the Pater Noster (“Our Father”). The purpose of the prayer is to teach people to not pray ostentatiously, or for public show, but instead to submit yourself to God’s will. Our cFather which art in heaven, dHallowed be thy ename. 10 Thy akingdom come. Thy bwill be done cin earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily abread. 12 And forgive us our adebts,…
The Šnajberk Genealogy Saga: PART ONE
Guest Post by Lukáš SvobodaTranslated by Kate Challis and Lukáš SvobodaOriginal Post found hereI first encountered the Šnajberk family in 2009. Because my grandfather was a teacher, under the Nazi protectorate he had to demonstrate that he had no Jewish ancestors. Thanks to all the baptismal certificates which he had to provide, I easily got…
1939 Legal Regulations of Jews in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
VLÁDNÍ NAŘÍZENÍ ZE DNE 4.7.1939 O PRÁVNÍM POSTAVENÍ ŽIDŮ VE VEŘEJNÉM ŽIVOTĚ Here you can find the exact law regulating Jews in 1939 Czechoslovakia. Open it in google chrome, right click, and select “Translate to English.” It is a depressing read, but it will help you understand the situation for Jews in the Czech Lands…
Porodní Bába
Midwifery is an occupation as old as time. As long as people have been having babies, there have been people to help assist with the birth. Traditionally, this would be the midwife. Not only did midwives deliver births, but they also had a legal duty in terms of witnessing births established in Roman and medieval…
Franciszka Corvin-Krasińska, friend of Maria Theresa
Here is Franciszka Corvin-Krasińska, whose diary I just read. It was fascinating. Somebody should make it into a movie. I liked that she did a good job of describing her surroundings, as well as foreshadowing (which is crazy, because she had not yet lived her story!) She also was an admirable, brave woman, and I…