Rok 1968 a K 231. Několik poznámek k diskusi nad knihou Jiřího Hoppeho

This is the fi rst contribution in a loosely conceived block of essays about Jiří Hoppe’s Opozice ’68: Sociální demokracie, KAN a K 231 v období Pražského jara (The Opposition of 1968: The Social Democrats, KAN, and K 231 during the Prague Spring; Prague: Prostor, 2009). The book received the 2010 Magnesia litera Prize in the category ‘Discovery of the Year’. The author of this article argues that Hoppe has provided a corrective to the growing number of interpretations by Reform Communists of 1968 who proclaim their allegedly rigorous democratic convictions of those days; Hoppe describes their attempt to prevent the emergence of competing political actors at any cost. In addition, the author returns to her own experiences of the Klub 231, in which former political prisoners of the Communist régime came together in 1968 and sought to achieve their legal and social ‘rehabilitation’ (or exoneration). The author emphasizes the fact that they did not succumb to the illusions of the day concerning ‘socialism with a human face’ and that they remained sceptical about future developments. And she reminds the reader of their links to the ideals of Masaryk, the First Republic, the Sokol association, and Scouting.