Eastern Slovakia
Slovak and Carpatho-Rusyn Genealogical Research
The 40th Anniversary of SVU
This Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences, generally known under its
acronym SVU, commemorates this year forty years of its existence. Since its
inception in 1958, the Society has grown into a respected international
organization with chapters in major cities around the world. Although the
Society until recently functioned almost exclusively in the West, ever since
the peaceful 1989 Velvet Revolution, it has expanded its activities to
Czechoslovakia and its successor states, the Czech and the Slovak Republics.
The Society was officially organized in 1958, at the initiative of Czech and
Slovak intellectuals living abroad, at a time when the communist regime in
Czechoslovakia had repudiated the country's historical traditions and
suppressed free expressions. The SVU wanted to provide a forum for free
development of Czechoslovak culture in exile and make the world aware of the
Czech and Slovak cultural traditions which date back more than a millennium.
Its activities, as outlined in the original bylaws, consisted of supporting
and coordinating the educational, scholarly, literary and artistic endeavors
of the Czechoslovak intelligentsia abroad. However, the Society was
subsequently broadened into an organization open to all individuals,
regardless of ethnic origin, interested in fostering Slovak and / or Czech
culture.
Following the end of the communist regime in 1989, the SVU's functions greatly
expanded. Now, in addition to its original mission, the Society has become a
bridge between Czech and Slovak professionals and those in other countries. It
allows scholars abroad to benefit from contact with their Slovak and Czech
colleagues, as well as helping to reintegrate the intellectual life of these
two nations into the mainstream of world science, arts and letters, from which
they were separated for so long by political barriers.
To date, the Society has organized nineteen world congresses, six European
conferences and twenty regional conferences, over thirty art exhibits, more
than fifty musical and drama productions, and more than twenty book displays.
Furthermore, it has published over eighty books and monographs, and four
periodicals, besides sponsoring or providing support to some fifty other
publications. In addition to the above, each chapter has organized meetings,
lectures, discussions, exhibits and local functions. It should be pointed out
that all of this has been accomplished by its own effort and with its own
financial resources. The Society is not dependent on anybody, it owes nothing
to anybody and it stands on its own feet.
Every two years the Society convenes a world congress. The program includes
presentation of scholarly papers, concerts, artistic exhibits and social
events.The lectures, seminars and symposia, as well as printed material are
generally presented in English. The first fifteen world congresses were held
in the U.S. or Canada, usually on university campuses. The following three
congresses were convened in the Czech Republic, two in Prague and one in Brno.
The last congress was held in Bratislava on 5-10 July, 1998. The twentieth SVU
World Congress is planned in the year 2000 in Washington, D.C. where the
Society originated.
Most of the participants started arriving in Bratislava on Sunday July 5 and were accommodated in modern hotel rooms at SUZA or DRUZBA, In the afternoon there was an open house at SUZA , i.e. a continuous Social Get Together with flowing open end sandwiches and other refreshments which were constantly being replenished. This gave an opportunity for meeting old friends or making new acquaintances from both sides of the Atlantic. The general mood was festive and very cordial.
Opening ceremony of the 19th SVU World Congress took place at 10 A.M. on Monday, July 6, in the beautiful "Aula" Hall of the Comenius University, Safarik Square 6. The event started with the academic procession of Rectors, Deans and other university dignitaries, dressed in their colorful academic gowns and golden chains, signifying their university rank, with trumpets playing. It was an unforgettable sight.
The large gathering of SVU members and invited guests which filled every available seat of the magnificent Hall, was officially welcomed by the Rector of Comenius University Prof. Ing. Ferdinand Devinsky, DSc., who hosted the meeting. He was followed by Dr. Ing. Igor Hudoba, CSc., Rector of the Slovak Technical University, who greeted the gathering on behalf of the Slovak Conference of University Rectors, of which he is President. The SVU Congress was officially opened by the President of the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Miloslav Rechcigl. The next speaker was His Excellency Ralph Johnson, the Ambassador of the U.S., who presented his views on the future relations of the U.S. and Slovakia. Then came an enjoyable music interlude by the chorus "TECHNIK," followed by brief addresses of Dr. Jaroslava Turkova, President of the Prague SVU Chapter and Prof. RNDr. Ing. Alexander Tkac, President of the SVU Chapter Bratislava and the Chairman of the Bratislava Organizing Committee. The ceremony was closed with "Gaudeamus igitur."In the afternoon there was a plenary session held in the Moyzes Hall at the Music Conservatory, comprised of six major addresses, including that of Miloslav Rechcigl, Juraj Stern, Jozef Tino, Zlatica Plasienkova, Jan Morovic and A. Tamir. The festive day was concluded with a reception and a cultural program of folk music and dance at SUZA.
Tuesday morning, Wednesday morning and afternoon and Thursday morning were devoted to academic sessions, many of which reflected the central theme of the 19th SVU World Congress : "Sciences and Arts on the Eve of the 21st Century." In addition, the program included a variety of symposia, and panel discussions on various topics, organized by different disciplines of human endeavor.
Tuesday afternoon was reserved for a guided tour through the historical Old Town, followed by a concert at the St. Martin's Cathedral, with the participation of the opera singer Zuzana Vasekova, Maros Kittner, organ, Milan Vonderka, violin, Lucia Majerska, violin, Dimitrij Kopcak, Eva Sochmanova, viola. The music repertoire included music of J. S. Bach, F. Handel, W. A. Mozart, A. Dvorak, F. Schubert and M. Markiezy. The program included words of welcome by Father Anton Srholec and poetry reading by Ladislav Chudik. The Congress participants were then received in the Lord Mayor's Office at the Primacial Palace and treated to the music of W.A. Mozart and Antonin Dvorak by the Bratislava Capella Istropolitana Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Robert Marecek. The extraordinary evening was concluded by a hospitable reception of scrumptious food and wine.
On Wednesday evening the Congress participants were taken by bus to the Bratislava castle to view the art exhibits and hear music by Mikulas Schneider, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Fryderyk Chopin and Antonin Dvorak. The performers included two leading opera singers: Zuzana Vasekova, soprano and Peter Mikulas, baritone and two piano virtuosi: Daniela Varinska and Marian Varinsky. Then followed a reception with light refreshments to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences.
The Thursday afternoon program comprised of two plenary sessions, one of which was devoted to a historical overview of the work of SVU local chapters throughout the world. The academic program was concluded with three keynote addresses, beginning with that of Petr Zuna, Rector of CVUT in Prague, who talked about the role of the Czech technical universities at the turn of the new millennium. The other two speakers included Father Anton Srholec from Bratislava who talked on the subject "Role of God in the Contemporary World," and Igor Kiss " Is Humanity on the Way Out?" The talks by the representatives of the Catholic and Protestant faiths, respectively, were duly followed by an extemporaneous presentation of Prof. Pavel Traubner, M.D., Ph.D., Honorary President of the Union of Jews in Slovakia. The academic program was formally closed by the SVU President who expressed thanks to his American collaborators and the Bratislava co-organizers, headed by prof Tkac, for the time and effort they put into organizing the 19th SVU World Congress. On Thursday night there was a farewell reception in SUZA with a cultural program, featuring a virtuoso on a cymbal whose mastery cannot be equaled.
Friday was reserved for a bus excursion into the Slovak picturesque countryside, with a guided tour of the Devin Castle and visit of the Smolenice Palace where the participants were served lunch. The group was then taken to Dolna Krupa to view the house of Beethoven and learn about the composer's private life and productive stay in Slovakia. Then followed an unforgettable visit to Modra and its famous ceramic artistic factory and laboratories "Majolika." The very enjoyable day ended in the small Slovak village of Budmerice where the Congress participants were treated to first rate goulash and other Slovak goodies, accompanied with wholesome Slovak wine and beer. While the eating and drinking was going on, the musicians played in the background the old tunes. Then people began dancing, while others sang.... I almost forgot to mention that we were first welcomed by the honorable Mayor of Budmerice who expressed his joy over our visit in his town and as a token of appreciation presented the SVU President a historical chronicle of Budmerice. As you can imagine, the overall mood was genial, exuberant, enchanted, fantastic.. What a way to end the Congress !
Irrespective of the criteria used, the Bratislava Congress must be judged as a highly successful event, not only in terms of its content and quality but above all, how much it contributed to enhancing understanding between one another, between Czechs and Slovaks, as well as other nationalities, between those in our old country and those abroad, between scientists, artists and humanitarians, as well as across the gender and the age lines. It has clearly fulfilled the society's aim as a cultural, nonpartisan and nonprofit organization, dedicated to the principles of free search for truth and knowledge, free contacts among peoples and free dissemination of ideas.
Present membership of the Society is some 2,000. It is scattered throughout the world, but concentrated in the U.S., Canada and Europe, the majority being associated with academic or research institutions. Throughout its history, the Society has had numerous local chapters worldwide, including such locations as Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Albany, Cleveland, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Hartford, Central Texas (US); Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Battawa, Edmonton, Vancouver (Canada); Melbourne, Sydney, Pert (Australia); Wellington (New Zealand); Japan (Asia); Pretoria (South Africa); Munich, London, Stuttgart, Base-Bern-Zurich, Vienna; and more recently in Prague, Brno, Bratislava, Kosice and Presov (Europe).
Persons interested in joining the Society, or learning more about its activities, should contact the Society President Dr. Miloslav Rechcigl, 1703 Mark Lane, Rockville, MD 20852); Phone / FAX: (301) 881-7222; e-mail: rechcigl@aol.com
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