"May the state and municipality build tramp's cottages at own expense." About relationship tramps to the Czechoslovak state "Let the state and the municipality build cabins for tramps huts on their behalf." On the relationship between tramping and the Czechoslovak state "Let the state and the municipality build tramp huts on their behalf." On the relationship between tramping and the Czechoslovak state "Let the state and the municipality build tramp huts on their behalf." On the relationship between tramping and the Czechoslovak state
Abstract
The paper focuses on the relationship of the Czech tramping to the Czechoslovak state during the so-called First Republic (1918-1938). Tramping was perceived as a paradox by the creators of the new state: it was based and benefited from the feeling of newly acquired freedom, but at the same time it represented civic indiference and therefore also a test of loyalty to the new state.
Escapism and western romance didn't support the civic ideal of the young state. The paper therefore aims to describe how tramps perceived the state and how this relationship had developed, also accroding to internal transformations of tramp's movement.
In the 1930s it became an accpted way of spending leisure time for many, not just young people. The issue of relation to state power was also closely related to the question of politicization of tramping and the interest of some olitical parties in tramps.
The relationship of the state to the tramps has also evolved dynamically, ranging from locally targeted repressions (so-called Kubát's law) what supported the institutionalization of some tramp's groups, to defending the republic against Nazi regime. The interaction between the tramps and the state can be seen as a mirror of Czechoslovak society which reflected both the changes in expectations of the state power towards its own citizens and laso in the expectations of at least two generations of youth.