Authors of the article are members of the Ethnological Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences and students of the department of Ethnology of the Philosophical Faculty, Charles University in Prague. It is based on the knowledge obtained in the course of the field research of multiethnic villages and towns with Czech minorities, realized in the year 1999 in Southern Ukraine. The research was focused mainly on the town Odessa and villages Bohemka, Veselinovka, Novhorodkivka, Alexandrovka and Lobanovo. Also Melitopol, Zoporoží and other localities are
mentioned. In the text, attention is given especially to the development of the ethnic composition of the inhabitants, their family life and family connections, sociál life and religious activities,
language communication and, partially, also to their folklóre and materiál culture. The researches arrived at a conclusion that in the times of „perestroika “ there was a rapid iníensification of the
interest in the origins of individual families, as well as a growing emphasis on the ethnical consciousness of the inhabitants, At the same time, manifestations of ethnic, minority and national
life in towns and in villages differ profoundly. The authors try to reveal reasons of this foct especially among the members of the Czech minority and to show what exactly do they perceive being base of their Czech identity.
Post-war Czechoslovakia needed foreign labour and the ineffective system of planned economy even increased the demand. Polish labour was preferred in a significant way by Czechoslovak companies during the whole period of the communist regime. Therefore, some companies from certain industrial sectors, such as glass and textiles, became almost dependent on Polish labour. Overwhelming majority of the workers were women. At the same time, governments and central planning bodies of both countries tried to control and sometimes even limit the foreign workforce both from economic and political reasons. After the arrival of Polish guest workers, rumours about their immoral behaviour, perceived as hunting for husbands in Czechoslovakia in order to stay in an economically better developed country, spread among their Czech neighbours. This stereotype is based on facts in some cases but do not necessarily evince a relationship between cause and effect. It is likely that negative opinion on the Polish workwomen was infl uenced by a stereotypical view of their country of origin (and of foreigners in general) and their gender. Other reasons for taking a job in the CSR, like a wish to escape from social control at home as well as to obtain scarce commodities, played an important role.