OSA / Guide / Fonds / HU OSA 300-30

HU OSA	300-30 C
Authority entry:	Czechoslovak Unit

Mandate, functions and sphere of activity

The Czechoslovak Unit was created to collect documents to support the Radios’ broadcasting operation.

In first five years of the existence of the RFE the research was done from New York. From 15 June 1956 on the research continued in Munich. The Czechoslovak Unit of the Evaluation and Research Section (till 12 January 1960) evaluated information items and reports recorded mainly in refugee camps, immigration offices prepared by the RFE news bureaus. These were compared to other sources, such as press and local radio’s broadcasts.

In the fifties the access to the daily Czech and Slovak press was difficult and therefore not systematic. Czech and Slovak periodicals were kept by the RFE program editors. The consistent collection of clippings, news releases, reports of analysts have not started until early sixties.

The individuals primarily involved in building the Czechoslovak archives were J. Netik, V. Kusin, H. Hajek, S. Winter, A. Kratochvil and L. Niznansky.

The Unit did not have a saparate collection of samizdat materials. However, the staff members did acquire such documents through their personal contacts..

Administrative structure

The code structure was a result of a collective work of all the members of the unit.
From 14 January 1960 to 24 August 1962 the Czechoslovak Unit of the Evaluation and Research Section was renamed the Czechoslovak Section of the RFE Evaluation and Analysis Department. From 25 August 1962 until 24 March 1965 the Unit was part of RFE Target Area Research and Analysis and from 26 March 1965 till 13 November 1992. part of the RFE East European Research and Analysis Department.

Relationships

Czechoslovak Unit as a part of East European Archives belonged to Information Resources Department which was one of the five divisions of RFE/RL Research Institute.

Rules or conventions

ISAAR(CPF): International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families General Intenational Standard Archival Description; OSA Internal Rules.

Dates of description

Prepared by Pavol Šalamon, 1999; revised by Pavol Šalamon, October 2002
Online version updated 18 December 2008