The collection of Milan Jelínek documents in detail the Communist thinking of a formerly protected linguist, and the later, a critic to the regime, becoming a samizdat publisher and co-organiser of lectures at the underground university.
Location
Hudcova 76, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
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Languages
Czech
French
German
Name of collection
Collection of Milan Jelínek
Provenance and cultural activities
Milan Jelínek was a formerly protected linguist, but later became a critic to the regime, a samizdat publisher and co-organiser of lectures at the underground university. The collection was created in the private ownership of Milan Jelínek during his lifetime, keeping his papers at home in his Brno apartment. The idea of gathering his belongings after his death, donating them to the Moravian Museum was thought of by his long-time friend and dissident co-worker Jiří Müller, who subsequently supported the creation of a new department aimed at preserving and presenting collections of prominent figures of Czechoslovak dissent and exile. At the end of his life, Milan Jelínek arranged and prepared his materials for the museum. The collection was organised according to the areas of his professional interest. After his death in 2014, these materials were also selected by his wife Jana Jelínková.
The largest part of Jelínek‘s collection was dedicated to the Moravian Museum in May 2015 and two smaller parts were in January and July 2018. Nowadays, the museum negotiates the donations of materials and the large amount of correspondence made by Milan Jelínek with his widow Jana Jelínková. The collection of Milan Jelínek is a relatively large set containing 53 standard archive cartons and an extensive library, and the collection is also systematised. Part of the estate of Milan Jelínek were also samizdats, especially those he had been involved in. A comprehensive collection of them was passed to the Libri Prohibiti, which operates as an archival research libary, which in the context of the materials, is an appropriate location, and here Jelínek‘s contribution in this field is more visible. At present, the collection is used mainly for exhibition purposes. However, an important aspect of the collection, is the possible use of Jelínek‘s published memoirs, and its manuscript which have also been placed in the Moravian Museum.
Description of content
The collection of Milan Jelínek is quite extensive, it currently consists of 53 cartons and more than a thousand book titles. It consists of materials demonstrating Jelínek's publicly engaged activity, especially after 1948 and his work in associations, as well as the interesting documents over a breif period of work he did for the Union of Scientific Workers too (1968-1971). The collection also includs personal documents, such as certificates, employment papers, appointment papers, official CVs, and materials in relation to the Communist Praty of Czechoslovakia. The collection also contains 4 cartons of commemorative medals and awards. A large part of the collection is composed of materials related to the professional activities of Milan Jelínek in the field of linguistics. There are summaries of professional literature, manuscripts of his works, language columns written in various periodicals, sources for articles, lectures, reviews, etc. A very important part of the collection consists of materials related to the cooperation with the Jan Hus Educational Foundation, as well as the organisation and activities of the underground university´s lectures at the French branch Foundation in Jelínek´s flat. There are also 17 lectures by French lecturers on VHS cassettes. A very valuable part of the collection are also Milan Jelínek´s diaries, written in the period of 1944-2007, where he was commenting on current events. In the collection, there is also a large specialised library, focusing mainly on linguistics, the Old Church Slovonic, Slovak Studies, as well as Russian studies, and many more.
Content
artifacts: 10-99
grey literature (regular archival documents such as brochures, bulletins, leaflets, reports, intelligence files, records, working papers, meeting minutes): 100-499
Jelínek, Milan. 2018. Memoáry 1942–1971. Od okupace do okupace. Brno: Moravské zemské muzeum.
Author(s) of this page
Nečasová, Denisa
References
Pichlová, Markéta. 2018. „Milan Jelínek a jeho fond ve sbírce Moravského zemského muzea.“ Acta Mus. Moravie. Sci soc. 1: 51–64.
Jelínek, Milan. 2018. Memoáry 1942–1971. Od okupace do okupace. Brno: Moravské zemské muzeum.
Krčmová, Marie. 1998. „Milan Jelínek – člověk a jeho osud.“ In Jazyk a kultura vyjadřování. Milanu Jelínkovi k pětasedmdesátinám, edited by Petr Karlík, Marie Krčmová, 7–14. Brno: Masarykova univerzita v Brně.
Encyklopedie dějin Brna. 2018. „Milan Jelínek.“ Přístup 8. 9. 2018.
