This study is devoted to the examination of the image of Rudolph IV of Austria in the historical writings of Henry Truchsas of Diessehofen. His chronicle, which maps the years 1316-1361, deals primarily with the history of the Empire; however, the attention of the author of this article is continuously drawn to the history of the Dukes of Austria, which is closely related to this area. The author try to explain the silence of the chronicler on the Rudolph’s participation in the allegiance formed by the Dukes of Württemberg in 1359, which was potentially aimed against Emperor and Rudolph’s father-in-law Charles IV. and Georg Modestin.
The article defends the possibility of using evolutionary schemes in historical sciences, as models for interpreting cultural-historical changes. It points out the possibilities for maintaining certain space within master narratives for explaining the theories of partial developmental processes. The demographic data could, then, be used as hypothetical indicators of the processes of cultural-historical change., Jan Horský., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The article lays out Jonathan Israel’s central ideas on the European Enlightenment, as they have been developed in his Radical Enlightenment (2001), Enlightenment Contested (2006) and A Revolution of the Mind (2009). I explain his ‘controversialist method’ of intellectual history and point out the advantages and faults of this approach. Israel’s model of the heterogeneous Enlightenment is shown as a response to A. MacIntyre’s postmodern criticism, and to the older models of a ‘single Enlightenment’, as presented by P. Gay, or older models of multiple enlightenments, as presented by J. G. Pocock. However, Israel’s heterogeneous Enlightenment recognizes just one progenitor of the positive ‘modern values’, which is identified with the Radical wing. The article reviews Israel’ s narrative of the development and spread of the Radical Enlightenment in Europe and the struggles with the Enlightenment mainstream and within the Enlightenment mainstream. However, I also show some faults in Israel’s argument, mainly his view of the ‘secular morality’, which should have been the outcome of the Radical Enlightenment’s campaign. In conclusion, I point at the inconsistency of Israel’s reconstruction of the Enlightenment morals and the differences between his view and J. Schneewind’s interpretation., Ivo Cerman., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
Publikace je překladem původního titulu The Myth and Reality of Hitler’s Secret Police (London, Hodder & Stoughton 2015). Britský historik se v ní podle recenzenta pokouší nabídnout novou, revizionistickou interpretaci role politické policie v totalitní společnosti. Ve své knize tvrdí, že nacistická Tajná státní policie (Geheime Staatspolizei - Gestapo) nebyla zdaleka oním všemocným, obávaným a brutálním aparátem, jak se traduje, ale spíše nepočetnou, přetíženou a podfinancovanou policejní složkou, která sestávala většinou z bývalých kriminalistů, reagovala nejčastěji na udání od občanů, vyšetřovala zdlouhavě a nepříliš efektivně a držela se zákonných postupů. Podle recenzenta, který s jeho výkladem podrobněji seznamuje, je tento obraz místy celkem věrohodný (ve vztahu k církvím), jindy ale nepřesvědčivý (zejména ve vztahu k Židům). Navíc autor líčí pouze vývoj poměrů ve třetí říši, a jeho zobecňující závěry jsou tedy nepodložené., The publication is a translation of the original title The Myth and Reality of Hitler´s Secret Police (London: Hodder a. Stoughton 2915). According to the reviewer, the British historian attempts to present a new, revisionist interpretation of the role of the political police in a totalitarian society. He claims that the Nazi Secret State Police (Geheime Staatspolizei - Gestapo) was not the omnipotent, fearsome, and brutal apparatus it is purposed to have been, but rather an undermanned, overworked, and underfinanced police organization staffed mostly by former detectives, reacting mainly to denunciations submited by citizens, using lengthy and not very effective investigation methods, and sticting to legal producers. According to the reviewer who provides a fairly detailed account of the author´s interpretations, the above picture is sometimes relatively credible (in relation to churches), but not very convincing in other places (in particular in relation to Jews). Moreover, the author depicts only the situation in the Third Reich, and his generalizing conclusions are thus unfounded., [autor recenze] Karel Černý., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy