In 1922, my American-born great-grandmother Anna Motis lost her citizenship when she married John Svagera, a Czech immigrant. Their wedding came mere days before the Cable Act began correcting this injustice, but Anna would wait more than sixteen years to become, legally, what she had always been: an American.
In June 2005, I traveled to Prague with my Czech professor, Míla Šašková-Pierce, to accept one of the Czech Republic’s Gratias Agit Awards on behalf of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Czech Komenský Club. Only years later did I begin to understand just how many generations were standing in that room with us.
There is a photograph I have known for a long time. I suppose everyone sees something different when they look at it. Some will notice the Soviet soldier first, his uniform, and shaved head, with the crowd pressing in around him. Maybe they imagine the tanks sitting somewhere just beyond the edge of the frame. … Read more
Today we laid my great-uncle Eugene “Eug” Svagera to rest. With that simple act, an era quietly came to an end. The four Svagera brothers, Charlie, Joe, George (“Red”), and Eugene (“Eug”)are together once again. As I sat in the Church during Mass today, I could not help but think that perhaps no four brothers ever shared … Read more
On Jan Hus Day, the Czech Republic remembers a priest burned for heresy. But was Jan Hus truly a heretic, or did he simply uncover the wound too early?
There are moments in history that seem almost too improbable to be real. Young men working beneath the smokestacks and stockyards of South Omaha, Czech immigrants who had crossed an ocean seeking peace and stability, boarded trains eastward toward Stamford, Connecticut, not for factory work or ordinary opportunity, but to prepare themselves for war on … Read more
There are moments in history when ordinary men become something larger than themselves. Not because they sought glory, riches, or conquest, but because they carried within them the hope of a people not yet free. Such was the story of the Czechoslovak Legion. Before there was a nation called Czechoslovakia, there were Czech and Slovak … Read more
There is something deeply moving about the idea of men leaving safety, steady work, and family life in America to fight for a country that did not even officially exist yet. Not for land they owned, or wealth. or even for citizenship. But for memory. For language and songs sung at kitchen tables and the … Read more
There are moments in family history that seem small at first glance, ordinary little happenings tucked into the folds of daily life, but years later you realize they reveal an entire world that no longer exists. My Grandpa Svagera’s first days at school in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, were one of those moments. Not long ago, I … Read more
S velikou láskou dědečkovi a tetičce The dance that overflowed the heart. There are some relationships in families that seem almost providential. Not accidental or merely biological, but deeply woven together by memory, history, sacrifice, and love. That was the relationship between my Grandpa Svagera and his youngest sister, Millie. Grandpa was the oldest sibling. … Read more
