The contribution deals with the legal proceedings concerning Vladislav Vančura’s
Obrazy z dějin národa českého authorship, the legal proceedings was conducted in the
1970’s and 1980’s. Vladislav Vančura was writing this book at the end of the 1930’s, while
some papers (historical facts) were submitted by young historians Václav Husa, Jaroslav
Charvát and Jan Pachta. Vančura was executed during World War II but his collaborators
became important representatives of the official Marxist-Leninist historiography after 1948.
Above mentioned historians claimed their collaboration with Vladislav Vančura as an essential
piece of Marxist historiography concerning the Czech history, and they also claimed
a part of the royalty. Vladislav Vančura’s heirs and the publishing house refused further
payments in the 1970’s and Marie Husová (Václav Husa’s widow) initiated legal proceedings
(1972-1984). The legal proceedings were concluded by the statement that their contribution
did not create an original work, the Marxist historians submitted only word-for-word
excerpts of older, non-Marxist historiography. Besides the fact, that the Czechoslovak
Marxist-Leninist Historiography founders lost their money, the litigation resulted into the
fact that they also suffered moral disgrace.
