Vojta Beneš
Encyclopedia
Vojta Beneš was a Czechoslovak
educator and political leader and brother of Edvard Beneš
.
Vojta Beneš was born in Kožlany
, Bohemia
, then a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Beneš began his professional life as an educator at various institutions, and from 1913 to 1914 visited the United States to study its school systems. Returning to the United States with his wife, Emilie, and their children in 1915, he criss-crossed North America agitating for Czechoslovak independence from Austria. For this and similar activities in the US during World War II
, he became known as "the Czech Paul Revere
."
After freedom from Austrian rule and the establishment of the Czechoslovak republic in 1918, Vojta Beneš was active as both an educator and public servant. He worked as a provincial school inspector, and, from 1937, as the chief inspector of the national school system. A member of the Czech social democracy
, he served as a deputy in the Czechoslovak parliament from 1925 to 1935, and as senator in 1935, resigning the latter post upon his brother's election to the presidency the following year. Beneš was additionally an official of the Czechoslovak legionary community and of the union of Czechoslovak teachers.
With the conclusion of the Munich Agreement
in 1938 and the subsequent Nazi
conquest of Czechoslovakia, Beneš narrowly escaped to the U.S., where he began anew his campaigning for Czechoslovak freedom after nearly twenty-five years.
After the liberation of Czechoslovakia by Allied forces in 1945, Vojta Beneš returned to public life in his country, serving from 1946 to 1948 in the Constituent National Assembly. Following the Stalinist accession to state power in 1948, Beneš, aided by the persuasive efforts of his daughter in Illinois
, returned for the third and final time to North America with the help of the U.S. State Department. He died in South Bend, Indiana
, in 1951. His remains were eventually returned to his homeland and interred in a cemetery in Prague.
He was the author of a number of works, including the war-time books The Mission of a Small Nation and Ten Million Prisoners, an illustrated volume of poetry for children, Naše Maminka (Our Mother), and others.
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
educator and political leader and brother of Edvard Beneš
Edvard Beneš
Edvard Beneš was a leader of the Czechoslovak independence movement, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the second President of Czechoslovakia. He was known to be a skilled diplomat.- Youth :...
.
Vojta Beneš was born in Kožlany
Kožlany
Kožlany is a small town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It is located 30 km northeast of Plzeň.Edvard Beneš, the second president of Czechoslovakia, was born in Kožlany in 1884.-External links:* * * * * * *...
, Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, then a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Beneš began his professional life as an educator at various institutions, and from 1913 to 1914 visited the United States to study its school systems. Returning to the United States with his wife, Emilie, and their children in 1915, he criss-crossed North America agitating for Czechoslovak independence from Austria. For this and similar activities in the US during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he became known as "the Czech Paul Revere
Paul Revere
Paul Revere was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting Colonial militia of approaching British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride...
."
After freedom from Austrian rule and the establishment of the Czechoslovak republic in 1918, Vojta Beneš was active as both an educator and public servant. He worked as a provincial school inspector, and, from 1937, as the chief inspector of the national school system. A member of the Czech social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
, he served as a deputy in the Czechoslovak parliament from 1925 to 1935, and as senator in 1935, resigning the latter post upon his brother's election to the presidency the following year. Beneš was additionally an official of the Czechoslovak legionary community and of the union of Czechoslovak teachers.
With the conclusion of the Munich Agreement
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
in 1938 and the subsequent Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
conquest of Czechoslovakia, Beneš narrowly escaped to the U.S., where he began anew his campaigning for Czechoslovak freedom after nearly twenty-five years.
After the liberation of Czechoslovakia by Allied forces in 1945, Vojta Beneš returned to public life in his country, serving from 1946 to 1948 in the Constituent National Assembly. Following the Stalinist accession to state power in 1948, Beneš, aided by the persuasive efforts of his daughter in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, returned for the third and final time to North America with the help of the U.S. State Department. He died in South Bend, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, in 1951. His remains were eventually returned to his homeland and interred in a cemetery in Prague.
He was the author of a number of works, including the war-time books The Mission of a Small Nation and Ten Million Prisoners, an illustrated volume of poetry for children, Naše Maminka (Our Mother), and others.
See also
- History of CzechoslovakiaHistory of CzechoslovakiaWith the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy at the end of World War I, the independent country of Czechoslovakia was formed, encouraged by, among others, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson...