European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 2, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Defiant czech Bookstore closing its doors in Victory by Randy Pruitt staff writer few techs believed bookseller pet Kochac Ewhen he posted announcements that american author Kurt Vonnegut would be in the Karel Capek Bookstore in downtown Prague in april of 1984. Quot they thought it was an april fools joke Quot says Rohacek 40. Rohacek was t kidding. Of nearly everyone s Surprise the author of slaughterhouse five and other Best Selling novels did come. The czech people did t think it could be possible Quot Rohacek says speaking of the Iron fist Clamp the former communist regime had on the country for the past 20 years. Quot anything from America a just to mention american names a could cause  Rohacek bucked the system when he invited Vonnegut the first foreigner to autograph books in the state owned Bookstore one of 102 that Dot the capital City. Vonnegut would t be the last american author to come to sign autographs and visit with czech fans with the help of former . Ambassador William Luers Stellar writers William Styron and John Updike later graced the Small drab bookshop. Over the past 10 years a total of 160 authors 60 from Bohemia and 100 from foreign countries would be honoured with autograph parties All under the watchful and disapproving Eye of communist authorities. The Karel Capek Bookstore known for its open Defiance of communist authority will soon close its doors for Good. Ironically democracy not communism is the culprit. A move toward privatization of businesses will turn the building into a clothing store. And Rohacek now a member of the czech Quot a s a g m ,. It to a pc Sodt a i Vyr i i.1&Quot a its amps Kandy Pruitt 3 Petr Rohacek displays photos of Kurt Vonnegut left and John Updike. The american authors visited Rohacek s former Bookstore in Prague. 3 3 i f a pillar in die former Bookstore is covered with the autographs of famous authors. Parliament will watch it All with mixed emotions. His 15 years at the Bookstore were bittersweet. Agents from the czech secret police often interrogated him Quot More times than i can count a says the slight Man with thinning Sandy hair. When scare tactics did t work they threatened to have him fired. On occasion policemen milled around outside the store to intimidate customers. Quot the company the state Only wanted me to fulfil the plan Quot he says referring to the state directive on How businesses and agriculture would operate. Quot what t was doing was something More and the company did no to like  running head on into controversy has been to Hacek a style since he became manager of the Bookstore in 1976 immediately he sought to distinguish his store from All the others by changing the name. He wanted 1o name it after Karel Capek a czech writer nominated for the Nobel prize for literature in 1938 Capek a close Friend of Thomas Masaryk the country s first president lived nearby Capek however was in Disfavour with the czech communist party which had allowed Only a few of his works to be published. Quot but Capek was recognized As a Good author in the soviet Union Quot Rohacek recalls. Quot it was hard not to let his name be put on the  for Rohacek though it was a one year struggle through the tangled czech bureaucracy. The name change signalled a Victory of sorts for Rohacek. Quot i was trying to broaden the limits that were Given 1o me by the system Quot Rohacek says. Quot the socialism has been horrible. T wanted to try to show people that even something like a Bookstore can be made another Way a better  Rohacek did no to Stop with the new name outside the store inside the display window he set up an exhibition of Capek s books. In the collection he added the out of print books that offended the communists. Quot it was important that people see that these books exist and they can took for them somewhere Quot he says Quot it the exhibition was opening the minds of the people Quot in 1984, Rohacek heard Over radio free Europe that Jaroslav Seifert a czech poet unpopular with the communists had won the Nobel prize for literature a communist party committee hurriedly huddled to discuss How to handle the matter but Rohacek was Way ahead of everybody. He quickly readied his shop window with a display. Quot suddenly Here was a Man unpopular with the communists in a shop window in the Middle of. Prague Quot he says. While Seifert s and other writers books weren t forbidden they weren t readily accessible either. Quot the communists wanted to pretend they Are very cultured so they let some Good books be published Here Quot Rohacek says. Unfortunately printings were often limited to 1.000 copies or less he says. Every Day Rohacek would copy one of Seifertt a poems and place it in his shop window. People did exactly what he expected. They came by and made  says it was his Way of asking Quot that Man is a Nobel prize Winner. Why Aren t his works available Quot in 1989, one month before the so called Quot velvet revolution Quot dethroned the communist Hierarchy dissident author Vaclav Havel now president of Czechoslovakia received a prize from the West German Union of literature. Havel Wasny to allowed to attend but Rohacek did the next Best thing. At the same time Havet was to receive the award in Germany he organized a Celebration in Prague Over the years the Bookstore attracted More and More of Prague s dissidents. Quot we were always trying to help the families of those dissidents who were in jail. Most petitions against the government were done through the Bookstore Quot he says. In Early 1989, dissidents sent a message to the government asking that talks be held. Quot it was signed by about 40,000 in Bohemia Quot he says Quot eight thousand signatures came from the Bookstore Quot Rohacek says tie never aspired to High places and did t expect to be elected to parliament after friends asked that his name be placed on the ballot. He came to discover that he was known by virtually everyone in Prague. Suddenly the Man whose highest ambition since boyhood was to run a Bookstore was in the political spotlight Quot but i have always considered books my Best Friend Quot he says with a laugh. Many of the world s most popular authors consider him their Friend too. A White pillar inside the Bookstore bears the signatures of the writers who have come Over the years. Every name represents a risk Bohanec took in the name of Freedom for Rohacek the writing is on the Wall. The Karel Capek Bookstore became known for its open Defiance of communist authority. Page 14 a the stars and stripes monday septer Oer 2, 1991a amps l. Emmett Lewis i Nikolai Jdanoff Heads posse publishing a firm committed to printing the works of soviet dissidents. Russian language publishing House ends its War of words by Randy Pruitt staff writer Nikolai Jdanoff prefers to fight with words rather than weapons. When it comes to toppling ideologies he discovered that communist leaders fear the printed Page More than a Bullet posing As a French student he once smuggled manuscripts out of the soviet Union. Over a time he showed others How to tiptoe through the soviet literary underground to get the ideas of persecuted writers out to the world. A i have been on the blacklist for a Long time Quot said Jdanoff who was born in France to russian parents 44 years ago. Today he Heads posse publishing a Small firm in a Frankfurt Germany suburb committed to printing the works of soviet dissidents in the russian language. Quot our Mam Reader is in the soviet Union Quot he said. Quot we Are quite specialized Quot posse also has a daring reputation in publishing circles. In 45 years the Maverick firm has published about 500 hardback and paperback books and sold rights to More than 500 different publishing houses worldwide. Many now famous soviet writers were Quot discovered Quot by posse among them Alexander Solzhenitsyn who received the Nobel prize Tor literature in 1970 a con act brought in the author s first manuscript the account of a prisoner s daily routine in the siberian gulag a Day in the life of Ivan Benisovich was published under a pseudonym in or arvo posse s literary Magazine posse was also the firs publisher to focus attention on uncensored soviet literature known As Samizdat bring to the Wesl the poetry Section of Boris Pasternak s novel. Doctor Zhivago despite its reputation in the publishing Field posse had a Humble beginning he started in 1946 in a displaced persons Camp near Frankfurt More than 1 million Soviel and East bloc citizens had been placed in the special Camps established by the Allied forces. Some had been brought to Germany As prisoners of the third Reich others had come in search of work after the War the Camps quickly developed into communities. Posse lust published an information leaflet titled posse which in russian Means to sow seed Tor growing it also published russian German dictionaries textbooks and unknown to Many lifesaving documents Quot the americans were looking 1o just get the people Back to the soviet Union because of the pact Between president Franklin a Roosevelt and soviet Leader Josef Stalin Quot Jdanoff said Quot but in the soviet Union it was very bad because any person who had been a prisoner was a traitor. The americans were not Able to understand this problem Quot clandestinely posse began punting false identification certificates establishing the immigrants ancestry As polish. French or even chinese Quot most of hem had never been 111 China or anywhere we set up schools where they Learned about China so when let by were asked questions by the americans they would not be taken Back Quot he said Many russians gained Freedom through posse s efforts some Odiose to stay in Europe while others immigrated to the  states. Australia Canada and South America. Posse kept in touch with Many of them As it continued to print russian language works including Gram Quot we were trying to help Start political and cultural life Here in the West for the russians living in the West Quot Jdanoff said that was the first  behind that though lurked a larger dream Quot we realized our potential Reader was m the Soviel Union Quot he said Quot the idea was to bring information to the Soviel people  they were otherwise unable 1o gel that meant smug my leaflets magazines and Tooks into the soviet Lemon but it was the time Al Stalin getting anything Especial in anti soviet literature Aeiress the i Eider was next to impossible and dangerous Quot posse took to the sky leaflets Vevie attached to special balloons carried by eastward winds Over soviet territory Quot but we stalled to have d Ali Cilles with the americans a he said our balloons were flying on about the same level As then u-2 spy planes Quot they slopped hat tactic after the Anier scans comp lamed and instead began to rely mainly on radio broadcasts following Stalin s death in 1953 More tourists began visiting the soviet Union posse personnel travelling As european Aclaro Tucau to ousts. Made Contact with Wnters the word began to spread we made an Appeal that we wanted to publish what is Loi Bidden to be published Lei political leases Quot Jdanoff said a fiends of posse workers sometimes  to take out a manuscript sometimes we received Ihms torn Normal tourists who were approached by someone saying. Can you Bung it to posse Quot said Jianott who became doctor of posse in 1980. Dealing with soviet a leis has t been without risks Jdanoff knows of men and women who were arrested and Imp soned for trying 1o slip Manu sculpts under the Iron curtain. Ollie is irom the West were taken into custody when they tried to bring the published books Back into the soviet Union in 1961, a bomb exploded in posse a a former Headquarters in downtown Frankfurt no one was Huit but the owner of the building refused to let posse continue renting the building. Posse moved to the Frankfurt suburb of Possenheim where it is Loday. Jdanoff said politics have made traditional publisher author formalities difficult to maintain. Quot writers come Here and collect royalties we have been keeping for 10, 20, 30 years Quot he said. More than once. Jdanoff has got Lon a phone Call irom a russian author who a just arrived at the Tram station in Frankfurt. Quot they say can you come and get me 1 have no Money to pay the taxi they might have thousands of dollars in royalties owed them Quot Danolf said More writers have been coming Wesl during the past three years to said Jdanoff said making Money was never the primary goal of posse which has about 20 employees still their unique operation presents unusual financial complications Quot we pay wages and expenses in German Marks. Ii you want to sell in the soviet Union you cannot get the Ruble Back in Marks a Book that costs $10 is 300 rubles one month s wages so to re trying to make it another  posse is attempting to set up a joint publishing venture in the soviet Union something that once would have been unthinkable the Ruble would be the sole currency. Jdanoff said Lecell events Iri tie soviet Union will not affect his plans Quot if anything were More  he said russians Are hungry Tor Reading material especially history he said Quot they eel that until now All that has been said since 1914 is partly false arid they want to knew exactly what happened Quot Jdanoff said writing in its soviet Union is now in a stale of transition you need one or two generations to clean the communist Way of  Fie said Quot the readers have to decide who is Good and who is bad not the party the stars and stripes a Page 15