Hundreds of thousands of Czechs and Slovaks fled their homeland during the communist era, many risking their lives in the process. Their stories, about why and how they emigrated, are sometimes dramatic, sometimes tragic, and essential to our understanding of the events that shaped the 20th Century.

The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library with the the help of Slovak USA records the personal stories, family sagas and community histories of émigrés from Czechoslovakia who settled in Chicago, Washington DC and Cleveland. Their stories are personal, but they help explain monumental political and cultural shifts that occurred during the 20th Century. In what we believe is the first project of its kind, we aim to gather the personal accounts of Czech and Slovak Americans and preserve their stories for future generations. The success of this project depends on strong participation from people like you. The project aims to capture and preserve the stories of Czechs and Slovaks who fled their homeland during the Cold War and settled in Chicago, Cleveland and Washington DC. On the project’s website, you can watch video extracts from interviews, look at photos and other archive materials, and read biographies of Czechs and Slovaks who began a new life in the United States. More about the project.

At the turn of the 20^th Century, Chicago was known as ‘the third biggest Czech & Slovak city in the world’, after Prague, Vienna, and Bratislava

When Communists seized power in Czechoslovakia in 1948, there was a massive exodus of Czechs and Slovaks, many of whom were drawn to the Chicago area because of the high number of ethnic Czechs and Slovaks already living there. In post-war America, Chicago was a thriving city which offered opportunities to these newly arrived émigrés. This wave of Cold War-era Czech and Slovak immigrants has contributed to the economic and cultural development of the city.

CLICK HERE FOR A FULL LIST OF INTERVIEWEES