THE CZECH AND SLOVAK EMIGRATION TO ARGENTINA IN THE ARCHIVE OF THE NÁPRSTEK MUSEUM IN PRAGUE

This article aims to provide information about archive sources relating to the Czech emigration to Argentina held in the Náprstek Museum in Prague. The study provides a detailed inventory of the material found in the Náprstek emigrants’ records. The material documents the activities of the Czechs and Slovak emigrants and their organization in Argentina, as well as the agenda of the Czechoslovak institutions dealing with the emigration issue. This material includes compatriot newspapers, correspondence and manuscripts of compatriot organizations, written and oral memories of the emigrants and their descendants. The unique material includes chronicles of several compatriots associations in Buenos Aires, travel memoirs of the Czech traveler Čech-Vyšata and the writings of Jan Purkrábek and Juan Jetmar. The Museum also preserves an extensive photographic record of Czech and Slovak emigration centers in Argentina covering the period from 1907 to 2014.


E-mail: indianske.jazyky@seznam.cz
The Czechoslovak emigration to South America became a research subject of interest in Czech Latin-American studies in the 1960s. Over twenty research studies and a similar number of student theses and dissertations were written primarily by Czech and Slovak scholars about this topic. These studies address fundamental questions about emigration to Argentina, as well as several case studies which describe emigration centers and compatriot institutions. It is clear from examining the existing studies that the research papers used sources from the Czech, Slovak and Argentine archives in a limited way. One of the challenges of this research topic is to map and analyze the archive sources and records (see partial results in Hingarová 2014a). The aim of this article is to provide information on archive sources deposited at the Náprstek Museum in Prague, one of the key institutions for the study of emigration to South America.
The sources related to the emigration can be divided into two groups: 1) Sources resulting from the activities of Czechoslovak and Argentine authorities in relation to the Czechoslovak compatriots. These can be found at several archives in the Czech Republic such as the Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Archive of Náprstek Museum, the National Archive in Prague; and in Argentina in the Historical Archive of Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Buenos Aires; 2) Sources resulting from the activities of Czechs and Slovaks emigrants who settled in Argentina. There is problem with sources from group 2 in that they have not yet been systematically archived and described (with the exception of some compatriots' journals stored in the National Library in Buenos Aires and in the library of the Náprstek Museum). Part of the sources can be found fragmented in the above mentioned archives, in some compatriot associations in Argentina and in family archives mostly in the Czech Republic and Argentina. The material on emigration to Argentina in the Náprstek Museum constitutes one of the largest collections of documents on Czech and Slovak compatriots in the Czech Republic, and probably also in the whole world.

Archive sources in the Náprstek Museum in Prague
The Náprstek Museum was founded by Vojta Náprstek  in order to house a library of publications dealing with Czechoslovak emigration. The Museum was systematically extended by purchases and donations by Czech compatriots living abroad. The library was built up by followers of V. Náprstek and to a limited extent today it has developed into a specialized library dealing with non-European cultures.
The material related to the Czech and Slovak emigration can be found in separate collections in two departments: at the Náprstek Library (NL to continue) and at the Archive of Náprstek Museum (ANM to continue). The Library maintains printed material: scholarly, belletristic, travel and memoirs, periodicals and other printed documents relating to emigration of the Czechoslovaks abroad. 2 The Library stores a unique collection of twenty compatriot periodicals from the period 1907-1961 and a smaller collection of scholarly and compatriot associations' publications. The Archive of the Náprstek Museum stores printed and handwritten material on the emigration of Czechs and Slovaks abroad, as well as archives inherited by Czech and Slovak individuals living abroad, and Czech scholars who conducted ethnographic research abroad. The collection of compatriots' documents in the ANM includes mainly material made by Czech compatriots in Argentina such as association prints, chronicles, correspondence and to a lesser extent written memoirs, diaries and personal documents. The archive also includes a rich collection of photographs of Czechoslovak compatriots and of the activities that took place in compatriot centers. Material on emigration to Argentina can be found in seven archive collections. These are: 1) two thematic collections of Krajanský archiv (Expatriate archive): K1 -Argentina; K2 -South America; 2) four private collections: Juan Jetmar's collection, Jan Purkrábek's collection, František Čech-Vyšata's collection, and Jarmila Novotna's collection; and 3) collection of the Československý ústav zahraničí (Czechoslovak Foreign Institute).
The expatriate archives K1 and K2 contain an extensive material on Czechoslovak compatriot centers abroad stored inside 18 boxes. These contain primarily scrapbooks of Czech and Argentine compatriots newspapers, association records such as anniversary brochures and invitations to the activities, information about individuals in the compatriot community, as well as Czechoslovak employers working in Argentina (Czech teachers, missionaries, diplomats), historical photographs, lists of compatriot institutions and periodicals, as well as donations such as bound books of the associations' work, photo album and certificates.
These records mainly cover the period from the World War I. to the 1960s. Recently in January 2015 unique material was donated to the Museum relating to 2010 and includes biographies and memoirs from the oldest living generation of compatriots and descendants of Czech and Slovak origin. The recent revival of interest in the Czech and Slovak heritage in Argentina is recorded in numerous documents printed in Spanish, compatriot newspapers and material from compatriot associations and Czech teachers. Exceptional material has been found in four private collections belonging to individuals who settled in Argentina. The collection belonging to journalist and chronicler Juan Jetmar  contains manuscripts about compatriot movement in Argentina during the World War I. to 1923. This material is crucial for the study of the establishment of the first compatriot institutions in Argentina and the Czech community, as well as the colony's involvement in the struggle for Czechoslovakian independence. The collection belonging to Jan Purkrábek  includes his personal archive. Jan Purkrábek was an active administrator of the main Buenos Aires compatriot organizations. This collection consists of three boxes. It includes extensive personal correspondence, correspondence from the associations, personal documents, manuscripts and scrapbooks as well as compatriot prints. All this material serves to paint a vivid picture of the private life and interests of Jan Purkrábek and his family during their stay in Argentina between 1914Argentina between -1932. This archive material accurately records the development, organization and character of compatriot centers in Buenos Aires during the 1920s. The private collection of the traveler and adventurer František Čech-Vyšata (1881-1942 includes two comprehensive written memoirs from his three journeys around South America. These provide a description and insight into compatriot life in Argentina and other South American countries between 1910 and 1920. Parts of these memoirs were published during his lifetime. The fourth collection belonging to the opera singer Jarmila Novotná  consists of one folder which relates to her artistic tour of South America. The Archive collection of the Československý ústav zahraničí (CUZ -Czechoslovak Foreign Institute) relates to the work of the institution from its establishment in 1928 to ca. 1950. The CUZ was an important state institution which focused on relations with Czech and Slovak compatriots abroad and recorded their cultural and social needs. Most of the material originated from the documentation work carried out by the CUZ. It includes inventories of expatriate associations and periodicals, emigration statistics, annual reports, information about individual expatriates and scrapbooks about Argentinian issues in the Czech and Slovak press, reports from expatriate centers, as well as correspondence with those mainly interested in emigration to Argentina. A rich photographic collection illustrates the compatriot life style in Argentina in the first half of the 20th century.

Inventory of sources relating to the Czech and Slovak emigration to Argentina in the Archives of Náprstek Museum
The archive records relating to the emigration to Argentina have been located in seven collections and are stored in a total of 60 archive boxes. I have examined the material contained in these boxes and have drawn up an inventory of all the major sources on compatriot life in Argentina. Although the Archive of Náprstek museum has created its own inventory with regards to most of the records it is not sufficient for our purposes due to its brevity.
When compiling the inventory I questioned whether I should catalogue the archive records orderly by the collections or by relevant topics or events. The information about compatriot events, individuals and institutions is in fact fragmented in most of the aforementioned collections. In addition, material on a particular topic is not usually duplicated in the other collections and thus provides new information. In the end I decided to create the archive inventory according to the collections, in the same way as it was done for the inventory of the Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 3 The following inventory includes a brief description of each archive collection followed by a list describing the physical documents stored there. Each document is given a brief description (more detailed than in the inventory list of the Náprstek Museum), including a description of the event or institution, location, participants, number of pages and date. The Archive inventory is sorted chronologically. If a date is not indicated, it means that it was not possible to determine it. The same applies to biographical data.
The vast majority of the archive material is written in the Czech language. A small part, mainly from the past two decades is written in Spanish. Since the language of this paper is English, it is necessary to solve the issue of the translation of associations, periodicals and other specific archive material. Since the names of associations occur in the documents only in Czech and Spanish, I decided to provide the Czech name and the English translation in parentheses. The names of book titles and other documents in Czech are also translated into English.

Expatriate Archive K 1 (Fond Krajanský archiv 1) Collection
This collection is part of the main compatriot collection in the Náprstek Museum. The topic of emigration to South America contains material related to the activities of the Czech and Slovak community in Argentina. It includes newspapers, separately numbered, brochures, annual reports and official correspondence of compatriot associations, as well as invitations to various activities organized by the associations.   , 1930-1939, 1945-1948-Association Sokol [1921][1922]1931.

Expatriate archive 2 (Fond Krajanský archiv 2) Collection
This collection includes rich material covering one hundred years of the Czech and Slovak emigrant colony from the 1920s to the second decade of 21st century. A part of the collection also includes valuable photographic records documenting cultural life in the major centers of Czechoslovak emigration in Buenos Aires and Chaco, and other smaller centers. The collection was restructured. For example, the material on Jan Purkrábek and Juan Jetmar was relocated into separate individual collections. The collection has recently grown with new material donated from Argentina.
The collection includes contemporary material from the last decade that is the result of renewed activities by Czech compatriot associations and by the work of Czech scholars, teachers and diplomats. The unique and valuable material consists of a bound book of association documents and a scrapbook called "Zprávy o situaci a rozvoji českých spolků a angažovanosti českých spolků za nezávislost Československa z let 1917-1923" (Report on the Situation and Development of Czech associations and their involvement in the independence of Czechoslovakia 1917Czechoslovakia -1923.

Private collections 2.3.1 Juan Jetmar's 4 collection
The collection consists of material that was donated after Jan Jetmar's death by his brother. It contains personal correspondence, historical material of Czech associations, scrapbook from Argentine and Czech newspaper and Jetmar's own newspaper articles. Some of the material written by J. Jetmar about the organization České národní sdružení can also be found in the K2 collection in the Náprstek Museum.

Čech-Vyšata's collection
The private collection of Čech-Vyšata 5 includes two manuscripts of travel memoirs from Argentina and Brazil from 1912-1937 and some other archive material. The collection was donated to Náprstek Museum by Čech-Vyšata family members in the 1950s. -Correspondence of Antonie Vyšatova after the death of Čech-Vyšata 1942.

Jarmila Novotná's collection
-Documentation of the tour in South America (Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile) -newspaper cuttings from Argentine compatriot press, programs performance 1943.

Collection of the Československý ústav zahraničí -CUZ (Czechoslovak Foreign
Institute) The collection contains extensive institutional archives from the first half of the 20th century. The collection consists of material about Czech and Slovak compatriot centers throughout the world. It concerns mainly material resulting from the activities of CUZ such as lists of Czech and Slovak expatriate associations, periodicals, business enterprises, research newspaper articles on emigration in Czech and Slovak press correspondence with compatriots and associations. The extensive collection is stored in 107 archive boxes. The topic of emigration to Argentina is scattered in over more than 20 boxes.  [1936][1937][1938]1940; -Registry of Abroad newspapers and magazines in Argentina; -List of Czechoslovak teachers working abroad 1938-1939-List of Czechoslovak Associations abroad, 1937, 1939-List of Czech andSlovak magazines abroad, 1937, 1939

Summary and analysis of the sources on emigration to Argentina in the Náprstek Museum
The above inventory of documents, related to the emigration to Argentina stored in the Náprstek Museum, leads to several conclusions regarding the timing, quantity and thematic focus of the sources.
It is evident that the material relating to the emigration to Argentina is quite extensive. It consists of documents produced by compatriots in Argentina (personal correspondence, association's correspondence, newspapers and other printed material) and also Czech institutions dealing with compatriots' issues. Most of the material in the collection was created by Argentine citizens. The Náprstek archive can be considered as one of the most extensive and varied collections on Czechoslovak emigration to Argentina in the Czech Republic. In Argentina, no archive exists which specifically documents the history and development of the Czech and Slovak emigration, 7 therefore the Náprstek collection should be considered as unique for both countries. 7 In Argentina, Museo del Inmigrante in Buenos Aires presents the history of emigrants in Argentina but covers only the agenda of the Argentinean Immigration office. The National Library in Buenos Aires archives most of the compatriot periodicals published by different emigrant groups including in Czech and Slovak language. Museo de Juan Osyčka in Chaco is dedicated to the history of Czech and Slovak emigrants of the area and the museum's collection includes tangible artefacts, artworks, books of Czech or Slovak origin. Several historical documents regarding Czech and Slovak history in Argentina may to be discovered in Argentinian national and local archives, as well as in the buildings of former compatriot organizations in Chaco and Buenos Aires.

The time demarcation of the sources
The collection of sources on the emigration to Argentina covers the period from 1907 to 2014. Juana Jetmar's collection and that of K1 are invaluable for a better understanding of the formation of the first Czech compatriot centers in Argentina for they contain correspondence and chronicles of two key associations -Sokol in Buenos Aires and the Czechoslovak National Association in Argentina. The K1 and K2 collections and the private collection of Jan Purkrábek are key to a better understanding of the period of the main development of the Czech compatriot community from the mid-1920s to the end of the 1930s, characterized by mass emigration from Czechoslovakia. The material documents the rise and the development of compatriot institutions in Buenos Aires, Chaco and other provinces. The end of the 1920s is marked by an active interest by Czechoslovak institutions in compatriot issues in South America. Two Czechoslovak Ministries -the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Social Affairs set up special departments to deal with compatriot affairs. In 1929, the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute was established with the aim to document and promote compatriot activities worldwide. The Collection of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute contains rich material on the activities of this institution. The material demonstrates that Argentina was considered as an exotic destination for thousands of Czechs and Slovaks, but the location does not draw special attention from the authorities. Its focus was limited to monitoring the situation of emigrants and the emigration policy in Argentina.
We can only find a limited number of sources on this topic relating to the period between the 1940s and the beginning of our millennium in the archive collection. This could be explained by the political situation in both countries. World War II and the communist regime in Czechoslovakia for a long time interrupted contact with Czech compatriots in South America (see more details in Hingarová 2014b). Following the political changes in Central Europe there is evident growing interest in their Czechoslovak heritage by Argentinians of Czech and Slovak descent. This has resulted in a renewal of compatriot organizations and an increase in Czech cultural activities as well as closer cooperation with the Czech authorities. The Náprstek Museum preserves material relating to the activities of new Czech compatriot associations in Argentina during the past 20 years. Recent key materials to be studied are two collections of written and oral memories of Argentinian compatriots which are the results of research projects.

The types of archive records from Argentina
The compatriot collection at the Náprstek Museum stores diverse types of documents such as compatriot periodicals, academic and popular publications, fiction, calendars, annual brochures, printed invitations; manuscripts, personal correspondence, association's chronicles, commemorative albums and photos. Most of the printed documents were published in Argentina for commercial purposes (newspapers, books); a smaller portion of prints was published for promotional purposes by Czechoslovak compatriot associations and Czechoslovak authorities. The specific documents are the result of research projects and activities by Czech teachers.
An important source for the reconstruction of the Czechoslovak emigration are compatriot periodicals. Most of them are systematically catalogued in the collection of periodicals in the Library of Náprstek Museum. A few single periodicals have been placed in several different collections at the Archive of the Náprstek Museum. These record special historical events and are often unique examples of the only known volumes and numbers. This is the case, for example, of the oldest compatriot newspaper Slavia, "discovered" in the collection K2. The newspaper Slavia was issued in Argentina in the Czech language and was already being published in 1907. The collection holds the first two original numbers. The existence of the newspaper was known from secondary sources in scholarly literature (Baďurová 1983). Slavia had been part of the archive collection for a long period of time but because it was stored as part of the Museum's archive and not in the collection of periodicals, the original prints were only "discovered" during the research on this project.
The archive material is clearly prevalently from the compatriot centers in Buenos Aires (especially the suburban neighborhoods such as Villa Dominico, Avellaneda, Villa Devoto, Dock Sud, Temperley) and the province Chaco. The collection provides partial information about the small number of compatriot centers in Cordoba, colony Veronica, Tafi Viejo, Comodoro Rivadavia, Rosario and Missiones. The material relates mainly to the following compatriot associations: Československé národní sdružení (Czechoslovak National Associations) in Buenos Aires, Avellaneda and Villa Dominico (later called Sparta), Sokol in Buenos Aires, Villa Dominico and in Chaco, Association Slavia in Chaco, Slavia in Temperley, Komenský in Villa Devoto and Czech Communist party in Buenos Aires. A small section of the material also relates to current Czech compatriot associations: Komenský cultural center in Buenos Aires, Český dům (Czech House) in Buenos Aires, Československá unie (Czechoslovak Union) in Chaco and Český spolek (Czech Association) in Missiones.
The archive material provides information about several individuals of Czech origin, settled and /or temporary employed by Czech institutions in Argentina. The Collection of J. Purkrábek offers a detailed view of the life and commitment of the voluntary Czech teacher J. Purkrábek in compatriot centers in Buenos Aires. The documents provide more detailed information on: Honorary Consul Richard Lehký, Ambassador Fr. Kadeřábek, missionary Procházka, teacher M. Brunclík, voluntary teacher Čvančarová, businessman Miloš Suchan, and amateur historian and chronicler Juan Jetmar.
A recent donation to the Náprstek Museum of a collection of memoirs of fifty Czechoslovak emigrants provides a unique source for exploring the history of individual compatriots. Memoirs were gathered based on the method of oral history and on individually written memoirs during the last fifteen years. The material provides a unique record about socially successful individuals, as well as ordinary people of Czech origin. For example, the memoirs of František Kadeřábek, Jr., the son of the most important Czechoslovak ambassador in Argentina provides new information about Czech diplomatic activities in Argentina during the World War II.

Conclusion
The aim of this article is to provide information about the archive sources stored in one of the key institutions for the study of emigration to South America. The study provides an inventory list of archive sources at the Náprstek Museum and defines and evaluates the collection's sources about the Czechoslovak emigration into Argentina.
The archive records constitute a relatively extensive collection stored in two departments of the Náprstek Museum -at the Library of the Náprstek Museum, that stores compatriot periodicals and some other printed publications -and the Archive of the Náprstek Museum. The Archive has material relating to our topic in 7 collections in over 60 boxes containing several hundreds of documents. These documents include correspondence, manuscripts, commemorative album, compatriot periodicals, publications, calendars, annual brochures, forms, photos and individually written memoirs of compatriots.
The main result of the study is the elaboration of the inventory list of all sources relating to the emigration to Argentina and the Czech and Slovak colonies which are stored in the Náprstek Museum. The list brings crucial information about the nature, extent, time and origin of the records. It is evident that the collection of material about the emigration to Argentina is quite extensive. It includes documents produced by compatriots in Argentina, as well as material produced by Czech authorities dealing with compatriot issues.
The material at the Náprstek Museum is undoubtedly beneficial for historical research on Czechoslovak emigration to Argentina, its development, socio-demographic form, as well as the understanding of export and integration of Czech culture abroad. It is a unique source that allows the reconstruction of the history of the Czechoslovaks in Argentina, a micro history of Czech compatriot centers, associations and individuals. The archive records can also be used in the field of humanities and social science research.
For example the archive records provide rich data relevant to the research of the development of the Czech language outside the home country and the evolution of the Czech bilingual emigrant community in Argentina, also it enables explore the rebirth of the old Czech and Slovak associations and the new ethnic movement in Argentina and it has the potential to awake the interest of the Czech state in promoting its cultural heritage abroad.

Sources:
Náprstek Museum, Collection department, Archive of Náprstek Museum, Library of Náprstek Museum.