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May 9th, 2007 issue

StB collaborators

I would like to react to the article, signed by Mr. Tomáš Jelínek (“Time to ask questions,” Opinion, April 25–May 1). I read the article with great interest as it raises real issues that the Federation of Jewish Communities sooner or later will have to tackle.

Basically, the article repeats information Mr. Jelínek published in the weekly Euro March 11: “Settling with the past — The Jewish Community in the sights of the State Security force” (Vyrovnaní s minulostí — židovská komunita v hledáčku Státní bezpečnosti).

I know most of the protagonists of Jewish life in Prague, the author and the person he mentions without naming, and also the general issue is not unknown to me. Further, I am also interested in the timing of the article and the moral issues the author of the article should face himself.

It is without saying that the issue of those listed as collaborators of the StB is haunting to many Czech citizens: those who are on the list, as well as those who are not and should be. This is because there are many names still missing from the noted lists of those who worked for various entities of the StB, in “political jobs” in the army and in enterprises (in so-called Zvlaštní školy, Special Tasks), and, last but not least, in the middle and top structures of the Communist Party itself. All these are not listed and not subject to public scrutiny. Not yet.

What I don’t understand is the morally schizophrenic approach that Mr. Jelínek took. As a president of the Jewish Community in Prague, he chose a public relations firm owned by someone listed as a collaborator of the StB. Then, he handed this firm a listing of all community members, without the authorization of elected bodies of the community and in violation of Czech laws, betraying the trust he held. When Mr. Jelínek was removed in November 2004, midterm, from his posts and functions in the Jewish Community in Prague by the community’s general assembly, he took a job with this very PR firm, as you state and identify at the bottom of your article.

Therefore, I do not believe the rage Mr. Jelínek is showing toward those on the collaborators’ list. Rather, his fury should be seen as one of the steps Mr. Jelínek is taking in positioning his own defense in several cases that the police are investigating in connection with mismanagement and alleged violations of the law while president of the community. The person at whom Mr. Jelínek is pointing his accusing finger is in the community’s internal dispute, and, not surprisingly, not supporting Mr. Jelínek. Mr. Jelínek had no problem supporting people who are on the list of StB collaborators if they were his supporters.

Also, I am wondering where Mr. Jelínek’s detailed knowledge of these files is derived from.

The subject that Mr. Jelínek addresses is one that should be discussed, and those who did participate in the numerous abuses of others during the communist era should be brought to light. It would certainly serve the case and eliminate needless discussions on moral issues if the person doing so would himself have an absolutely clean record.

Charles N. Wiener
Past executive director of the Jewish Community in Prague (December 2004–January 2006)
Geneva, Switzerland

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