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Iron Curtain in Aš: Socialist Heritage and Its Destiny after 1990

Linda Kovářová
Linda Kovářová
, 
Jan Krajíček
Jan Krajíček
 and 
Albert J. Šturma
Albert J. Šturma
   | Jan 28, 2024
Journal of Nationalism, Memory & Language Politics's Cover Image
Journal of Nationalism, Memory & Language Politics
Volume 17 (2023): Issue 3 (December 2023)
Special Issue: Reconsidering “Post-Socialist Cities” in East Central and South East Europe
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Published Online: Jan 28, 2024
Page range: 203 - 222
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jnmlp-2023-0013
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© 2023 Linda Kovářová et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Fig. 1

The tri-border area near the village of Hranice: borderland of the German federal states of Saxony (former East Germany) and Bavaria (former West Germany) and the Czech Republic (former Czechoslovakia) with a map of natural habitats. Note that most of them are crowded in a narrow strip along the border. The former East Germany–West Germany border was not included in the mapping due to methodological differences, but it also contains high natural values. Map from the archive of the cross-border cooperation program Czech Republic—Free State of Bavaria project no. 293 “Historické využití území a jeho význam pro budoucí ochranu významných druhů podél bavorsko-české hranice / Historische Landnutzung und ihre Bedeutung für den zukünftigen Schutz bedeutender Arten entlang der bayerisch-tschechischen Grenze” (Historical use of the land and its importance for the future protection of important species along the Bavarian–Czech border).
The tri-border area near the village of Hranice: borderland of the German federal states of Saxony (former East Germany) and Bavaria (former West Germany) and the Czech Republic (former Czechoslovakia) with a map of natural habitats. Note that most of them are crowded in a narrow strip along the border. The former East Germany–West Germany border was not included in the mapping due to methodological differences, but it also contains high natural values. Map from the archive of the cross-border cooperation program Czech Republic—Free State of Bavaria project no. 293 “Historické využití území a jeho význam pro budoucí ochranu významných druhů podél bavorsko-české hranice / Historische Landnutzung und ihre Bedeutung für den zukünftigen Schutz bedeutender Arten entlang der bayerisch-tschechischen Grenze” (Historical use of the land and its importance for the future protection of important species along the Bavarian–Czech border).

Fig. 2

Population decrease of selected borderland villages in the Aš region from 1930 to 1961. Source: Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2011; Kronika města Aše 1946, 25; Soupis obyvatelstva v letech 1946 a 1947.
Population decrease of selected borderland villages in the Aš region from 1930 to 1961. Source: Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2011; Kronika města Aše 1946, 25; Soupis obyvatelstva v letech 1946 a 1947.

Fig. 3

Locations of abandoned or vastly depopulated borderland villages in the Aš region, selected according to Fig. 2. (1 – Trojmezí, 2 – Pastviny, 3 – Újezd, 4 – Štítary, 5 – Horní Paseky, 6 – Vernéřov, 7 – Nový Žďár).
Locations of abandoned or vastly depopulated borderland villages in the Aš region, selected according to Fig. 2. (1 – Trojmezí, 2 – Pastviny, 3 – Újezd, 4 – Štítary, 5 – Horní Paseky, 6 – Vernéřov, 7 – Nový Žďár).

Fig. 4

A display of border signs in the Doubrava village. The concrete roadblock in front of them is most probably a former Iron Curtain military obstacle. The border sign from the Iron Curtain period is the one just behind the black helmet saying “Beware. Forbidden zone. Do not enter.” (Photo from author’s archive).
A display of border signs in the Doubrava village. The concrete roadblock in front of them is most probably a former Iron Curtain military obstacle. The border sign from the Iron Curtain period is the one just behind the black helmet saying “Beware. Forbidden zone. Do not enter.” (Photo from author’s archive).

Fig. 5

The former border guard observation tower on the Stráž hill above the borderland village of Horní Paseky. The hill remains deforested. The second picture shows part of the village featuring the renovated former military buildings, which are now used as housing (Photos from author’s archive).
The former border guard observation tower on the Stráž hill above the borderland village of Horní Paseky. The hill remains deforested. The second picture shows part of the village featuring the renovated former military buildings, which are now used as housing (Photos from author’s archive).

Fig. 6

Building of a former patrol base in Újezd from the outside and inside. They are empty, dilapidated, and freely accessible. (Photo from author’s archive).
Building of a former patrol base in Újezd from the outside and inside. They are empty, dilapidated, and freely accessible. (Photo from author’s archive).
eISSN:
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Language:
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Journal Subjects:
Cultural Studies, Cultural Theory, Political Theory, Topics in Cultural Studies, Memory, History, Topics in History, Political Ideologies and Ideas, Social Sciences, Political Science, other
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