The Czechoslovak Society of Arts & Sciences

The Czechoslovak Society of Arts & Sciences (Společnost pro vědy a umění - SVU) was founded in Washington, DC in 1958. According to the organization’s website, the main goal of the society was ‘to provide a forum for the free development of Czechoslovak culture in exile and make the world aware of Czech and Slovak cultural traditions, which date back more than a millennium.’


SVU Presidents Jan Mladek, Jan Triska, Rene Wellek, Mila Rechcigl, Frantisek Schwarzenberg and Jaroslav Nemec at the 9th SVU World Congress, Cleveland, 1978

The SVU’s first president was Professor Vaclav Hlavaty. The longest-serving head of the organization, however, was Dr. Miloslav (Mila) Rechcigl who led the SVU from 1974-1978 and then again from 1994-2006. Dr. Rechcigl became involved in the organization shortly after its creation; in his interview with Recording Voices & Documenting Memories, he discusses the context in which the SVU was formed:



Today, the SVU has different, expanded functions. The society wants to ‘become a bridge between Czech and Slovak professionals and those in other countries. It allows scholars abroad to benefit from contact with their Czech and Slovak colleagues, as well as helping to reintegrate the intellectual life of these two nations into the main stream of world science, arts and letters, from which they were separated for so long by political barriers.’

One of the ways in which the society attempts to facilitate communication between Czech & Slovak professionals is through its very useful SVU Directory, which lists contacts and brief biographical details for each of the organization’s members:


The well-worn copy of the SVU Directory used by Recording Voices & Documenting Memories

The SVU continues to publish a review entitled Kosmas as well as a number of books. In Washington, DC (where the local SVU chapter continues to be particularly active) an annual Christmas bazaar of Czech & Slovak crafts remains particularly popular. Dagmar White is an SVU member who contributes each year to the Christmas fair; she believes the organization’s purpose is changing:



The SVU is known in particular for its biannual World Congresses (which Dr. Rechcigl has been involved in since the inaugural meeting in 1962). The next World Congress will be held in 2012 in Žilina, Slovakia. For more details, check the SVU’s website over the coming months.

In the course of Recording Voices & Documenting Memories, many people have spoken of their involvement with the SVU. For more on the organization over the years, see Zdenek David, Vera Borkovec and Paul Burik's full-length interviews.