Undaunted by Exile! To the Victims of Religious, Political, National and Racial Persecutions in Central Europe between the 16th and 20th Century with an Accent on the Czech Lands

A collective monograph Undaunted by Exile! To the Victims of Religious, Political, National and Racial Persecutions in Central Europe between the 16th and 20th Century with an Accent on the Czech Lands is a work by Czech and Slovak historians on an issue that remains to be the most burning topic not only in the Czech (and Czechoslovak) national space, but also in Central Europe (and Europe), not to say in the whole world. Forced migrations, or in fact emigration and immigration – are fundamental problems of European countries in the second decade of the 21st century.
We acknowledge the fact that migrations present a rudimentary social process in human history, reflecting economic, social, cultural and ecological conditions of mankind. Naturally, except for escapes or forced migrations. Forced migrations can certainly be also triggered by above mentioned motives, but as the Modern Age and modern history have proved – and Central Europe is no exception – they also stem from religious aspects which, at the turn of the 18th and 19th century, started to open up a space for political, ethnic or racial motives.
Forced migrations and their aspects are reflected in particular demonstrations that produced exiles, refugees, emigrants and immigrants. These migrants are often subjected to various violent acts such as displacement, deportation, repatriation or they are even massacred. Hence, forced migrations, triggered by human tragedies and those uncaused by the victims themselves, should arouse a surge of general understanding and helpfulness in other countries which are momentarily unaffected by wars or by other misfortunes. Unfortunately, it is quite on the contrary.
The monograph Undaunted by Exile! has an ambition to present a general image condensed into key problems and, simultaneously, a concrete image in retrieved life stories of twenty (out of thousands) personalities of the Czech and Czechoslovak state history who, for a particular reason, spent part of their lives as exiles or emigrants beyond the borders of their native country from the 16th to the 20th century.