Perceiving of Foreigners and Foreign Countries in the Eyes of SNB Members: Oral History Inquiry to the Images from Individual and Collective Memory
Abstract
This short study tries to deal with the topic of foreigners seen from the perspective of communist policemen employed in (Sbor národní bezpečnosti - SNB), which was the only official body uniting a public guarding police (Veřejná bezpečnost - VB), a criminal police and also a secret police (Státní bezpečnost - StB) in Czechoslovakia before 1989. Based on the analysis of twelve oral history interviews with ex-SNB members of basic and middle ground of SNB hierarchy, author is attempting to conclude the most visible patterns of individual and collective memory and the ""image countours"" of foreigners (as non-Czechoslovak citizens) and their countries (especially Eastern and Western ones) connected with pre-1989 period.
Last but not least he tries to compare the final outputs of ""sample"" analysis and interpretations with other socio-professional groups of Czech/Czechoslovak society (which were also researched through oral history perspective during of two oral history projects realized between years 2006 and 2013) and to formulate some general remarks.