An article by CRAACE research fellow Marta Filipová, ‘“Highly Civilized, yet Very Simple”: Images of the Czechoslovak State and Nation at Interwar World’s Fairs,‘ has just been published in the journal Nationalities Papers.

How does a newly formed state and its newly created nation present itself at world’s fairs? This article focuses on the interwar period and the impact of the political restructuring of Central Europe in order to examine the strategies and motivations of Czechoslovakia for participation in exhibitions around the globe. It takes Czechoslovakia as an example of a country, created in 1918, that constructed and displayed its image in a comprehensible and uncomplicated way to international audiences. World’s fairs that were primarily organized to promote trade relationships thus gave the opportunity to countries like Czechoslovakia to validate its existence, internal composition, and domestic politics through carefully crafted narratives that were showcased. The article primarily addresses the question of who creates these narratives and why, while scrutinizing the transfer of domestic politics into international displays.

The article is open access and can be read here.

View of the exhibition space in the Czechoslovak pavilion, Brussels International Exposition, 1935, Moravian Regional Archive in Brno, State District Archive Zlín, Fond Baťa, a. s., Zlín, sign. XV, inv. no. 165, author unknown, 1935