The Sokol in the Czech Lands to 1914: Training for the Nation

by Claire E. Nolte

This overview of the history of the Sokol, the Czech nationalist gymnastic organization, from its founding in 1862 until the outbreak of World War I emphasizes its role in articulating national values and facilitating mass mobilization in the political context of the multinational Habsburg state. By including background on the German Turnverein , this study goes beyond the Czech context to explore the intersection of gymnastics and mass nationalism in Central Europe.

268 pages, Hardcover

First published September 23, 2002

Reviews

[Malcolm · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the later half of the 19th century a gymnastics movement emerged in the Slavic speaking parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a marker of nationalism. It's not so odd: it was all about bodies, the self, and ways of being, in the way that a lot of contemporary sport is about nationalism. Notle's exploration of Sokol, the gymnastics movement, in Bohemia and Moravia up to WWI is clear, and for a PhD turned monograph very accessible. Alas, the publishers only saw fit to issue it as a £50+ hardback – shame on them!