This study focuses on the personality of Josef Cardinal Beran (1888–1969) in the context of the modern history of the 20th century. The introductory chapters focus on his youth and intellectual maturing during his studies in Rome and his subsequent activities in the spiritual service during the first republic period. The following part depicts Beran’s Nazi imprisonment, his life in the Dachau concentration camp and his return to his homeland. In the turbulent times after the World War II, he was elected an archbishop and went down in history as a major advocate of the autonomy of the church and democratic ideas. The communist regime sentenced him to home imprisonment and he was interned in different parts of the country due to his moral attitude between 1951 and 1965. He spent fourteen years completely isolated from his nation and the church, and under permanent surveillance of the State Security. Towards the end of his life, the communist regime allowed him to depart for the nomination for cardinal in Rome, but without the possibility of returning. The next part of the study deals concisely with Cardinal Beran’s life in forced exile and commemorates his work done behind the iron curtain for his homeland and the church as well as for Czechoslovak exiles scattered all over the world.
The study draws on comprehensive research in archives home and abroad – state, private, and church ones; detailed analysis of world and home press; and written memoirs and witnesses’ memories.
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Utwór dostępny jest na licencji Creative Commons Uznanie autorstwa – Użycie niekomercyjne – Na tych samych warunkach 4.0 Międzynarodowe.