Bertrand Patenaude in Prague

Bert Patenaude, MA ’79, PhD ’87, first visited Prague in 1975, while studying in Vienna. Back then, one could still feel the repressive atmosphere following the brutal crackdown on the Prague Spring by the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact countries in 1968. Today, those political repressions are a distant memory, and Prague has become a magical destination for travelers from around the world. Bert has returned to the city numerous times through the years, notably since the Velvet Revolution of 1989 that helped bring about the collapse of the Soviet bloc. The Velvet Divorce that followed in 1992 split Czechoslovakia into two separate countries.

As a lecturer in history and international relations at Stanford, Bert has spoken frequently on the history of Prague and its place in Central Europe, especially during the turbulent 20th century. During our program, his lecture topics will include Prague and Bohemia as part of the Habsburg Empire, the rise and fall of Czechoslovakia, and why Prague figures in every discussion about the meaning of the term “Central Europe.”

Along the way, Bert will be our guide on Prague’s striking art nouveau architecture, the landmarks of its unforgettable Jewish Quarter, and how the performance in Prague in 1786 of Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro was a tremendous success. He’ll also explain why the central Prague train station, which was founded as Franz Josef Station, after the Habsburg Emperor, was renamed for President Woodrow Wilson during the interwar years.

• Lecturer, history and international relations, Stanford University, since 1991

• Research fellow, Hoover Institution, since 1992

• Author, Trotsky: Downfall of a Revolutionary (HarperCollins, 2009)

• Book review contributor, The Wall Street Journal

• Member, Board of Directors, Stanford Historical Society

• BA ’77, political science, Boston College

• MA ’79 and PhD ’87, history—both Stanford University