In his book, published by the prestigious publishing house of Berghahn, the promising young historian, Dr. Felix Jeschke (University of Munich), examines the phenomenon of the railway (only in relation to personal transport) in central Europe, namely in the first Czechoslovak Republic. The aim of the work, whose title page catches the reader's attention at first glance with its image of a red train car—the Slovenska Strela motorized express train—is to examine the “national ambivalence of the railway” using the terms “national railways” and “cosmopolitan railways” (16).
From the author's stated aim, it is clear that this is a very innovative approach, though it comes with certain potential risks. This essayistically conceived book is unconventional in several respects. In addition to an extensive introduction and conclusion, it consists of a total of five chapters. Despite the scope of the introduction, however, we do not find in it a classical analysis of sources and literature. To some extent, this is compensated by more extensive notes, containing dozens of titles on the topic, but without comments or evaluation. The author, as can be seen from the notes, is well acquainted with both the period and contemporary professional literature of both Czech and foreign provenance, and makes use of a relevant selection of sources.
The first chapter (“Forging a Nation from the Tracks: Railway Construction and Representation in Interwar Czechoslovakia,” 25–63), concerns itself with, as the title indicates, the “forging” of the “Czechoslovak” nation with the aid of railway construction. The next chapter (“The Heart of Europe and Its Periphery: Travelling and Travel Writing,” 64–101) is devoted to the mythology of Prague (Bohemia) as the heart of Europe (J. Palacký, 1800s historian) and simultaneously its periphery and issue of travel. In this chapter, one appreciates the author's approach and involvement of (period foreign) tourism.
Chapter 3, entitled “Germanized Territories” or “Pure German Soil”? The National Conflict on the Railways” (102–36), deals with the fascinating example of national dissonances. The author tells the story of Czech teacher Josef Jireš in the Liberec region (a territory with a predominantly German-speaking population) who wants a German-speaking conductor (an employee of the Deutsche Reichsbahn) to speak Czech with him in the Czech Republic. More than 100 km of railways in Czechoslovakia were owned and operated by the Deutsche Reichsbahn, a holdover from the nineteenth century.
The penultimate chapter (“Station between the National and the Cosmopolitan: Railway Buildings and De-Austrianization,” 137–62) tells of the relationship between the national and the cosmopolitan and de-Austrianization using the example of railway station buildings, and their appearance and importance, not only from the perspective of transportation, but also from the national and state perspective. The state built new lines based on its interests: the replacement of the north-south direction with an east-west direction. In the final, fifth chapter (“Bratislava to Prague in 4h 51min”: Nationalism, Cosmopolitanism and the Slovenská strela,” 163–86) Jeschke documents the relationship between the national and the cosmopolitan, on the example of the fastest Czechoslovak railway train with an atemporal hybrid engine, the Slovenská strela (Slovak Bullet).
The conclusion is not a classic summary conclusion, but rather an epilogue, as it briefly outlines the development up to 1989. Here it is appropriate to correct the author's treatment of the word “national” after 1989/1993, when the adverb “national” replaced the up-to-then-used term “state,” hence the National Library, the National Archive and thus the Czech Railways as a national carrier, not in the nationalist sense, but as an expression of “separation” from the pre-November regime.
Jeschke's new perspectives merit appreciation. This book will assuredly lead to reflection on our evaluations up to this point, without necessarily having to lead to re-evaluation, but, rather, to a more precise refinement. Unfortunately, the notes are listed only after the text of the chapter, which is not very reader-friendly, and their content presupposes knowledge of the environment and Czech on the part of the reader. Another issue is that paragraphs should not exceed the length of a page. The author's concentration on the railway in the elaboration of the topic is fundamental, as the railway embodied the most efficient transport factor of the time. The inclusion of rail freight would bring a further extension of the topic as well as possible corrections to its evaluation.
