Forum Radio: When there was a "Little Berlin" in Prague

Last month saw the publication of a much-anticipated mew monograph titled Little Berlin in Big Prague by artist and academic researcher and art history graduate Lenka Kerdová. The foundation for the book was fascinating research (originally for her Ph.D.) examining Prague architecture during the interwar period, specifically buildings designed by German-speaking architects. These included professionals of various backgrounds whether ethnic Germans, Czech Jews, or German-speakers from abroad seeking their place in a vibrant new market. Kerdová’s book looks not only at architecture but also complex social, economic as well as political factors and relationships that influenced life in Czechoslovakia during the First Republic from 1918-1938 preceding the Second World War. In her work, Kerdová compares and contrasts Czech Functionalism and more traditional approaches and examines the state of the discourse, professional competition and other trends of the day. Bilingual (in Czech and German), full of period photographs, her book brings new attention to a largely lost era. In this episode we talk not only about Little Berlin but even a bit about her own artistic work and what it was like to study not one but two schools: Charles University and AVU – The Academy of Fine Arts in Prague.