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In memoriam Eva ‘Mimi’ Jiránková (1921–2015)

This study is dedicated to Czech women in particular and women in general, wherever they live. Two of them are particularly dear to me: Marta Neracher taught me Czech in the late 1980s and sent me off to study at the letní škola (Summer School of Bohemian Studies) at Charles University – a summer month in Prague in 1991 that would crucially determine my life as a scholar specializing in Czechoslovak history. Thanks to my knowledge of Czech, I eventually met Mimi. Every day, I miss Mimi’s optimism, straightforwardness and black humour, her happy and energetic voice. We used to talk about Czech and world politics on the phone at least once a week. When we spent time together walking in Prague, Mimi used to explain to me how that particular house or that particular corner looked in Masaryk’s Republic and how it changed during the German occupation. Her witty and enlightened comments about what was happening doma taught me a lot about Czech politics in the 20th and 21st centuries. Dearest Marta, thankfully we will still meet up for our traditional cup of tea and talk about Czech literature and our lives as scholars at the university. Dearest Mimi – we all follow.