The existence of Rotary Clubs (RCs) stems from the international nature of the Rotary International community. The founding of the Prague club was supported by RC Cleveland (Ohio, USA), whose members at the time included two successful Czech-Americans: František Vlček, the owner of a large engineering company producing tools, and successful businessman Frank J. Truneček. Both men had strongly supported the establishment of democratic Czechoslovakia during World War I—Vlček financially, Truneček through his organizational efforts.
Interest in Rotary membership in Prague began to grow in 1924, thanks to the initiative of Antonín Suma, a prominent diplomat and organizer of public life (he also founded the Prague YMCA), along with Charles Summer Winans, the U.S. envoy to Prague, and most notably, Jan Masaryk, diplomat, foreign minister, and son of President T. G. Masaryk. In fact, some of the early meetings were held in the Masaryk residence at Prague Castle. Among the participants were well-known figures such as entrepreneurs Jindřich Waldes, Miloš and Václav Havel, Josef Schulz, Jaroslav Podhajský, artist František Anýž, writer Václav Tille, and other distinguished gentlemen of the time. RC Prague was officially inaugurated on September 14, 1925, and laid the foundation for the establishment of Rotary clubs in nine other Czech cities.
The meeting places of the Prague Rotary Club changed over the years, though its activities are most often associated with the city’s Municipal House. The club’s vibrant social life revolved around engaging professional lectures, interclub visits, and both summer and winter excursions. Members were also active golfers and tennis players, especially in spa towns. Rotary members provided pro bono translations of informational materials about their cities into English or French and arranged for their sponsored printing. They also served, for example, as guides for foreign visitors during the 8th All-Sokol Rally.
The clubs supported the construction of public-benefit facilities—such as schools, hospitals, theaters, youth centers, sculptures, and local infrastructure projects. In the western part of the district, they often supported scout groups, while in Slovakia, they focused on founding and backing the Czechoslovak Red Cross. Clubs also sponsored students for summer stays abroad. Supporting school meals for children from impoverished families was a common practice as well. Charitable activities typically culminated during the Christmas season.
After the Munich Agreement, Rotary clubs in the Sudetenland were the first to be dissolved. In the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, a deadline was set for the liquidation of Rotary clubs and similar associations by Saturday, August 26, 1939. According to a 1946 survey, more than two hundred former Czechoslovak Rotarians—around one-sixth of the membership—were imprisoned or otherwise persecuted between 1939 and 1945 for various reasons.
Immediately after the liberation of Czechoslovakia, First Republic Rotary clubs began restoring their activities. Noteworthy was the news that, with the direct involvement and support of two local Rotary members, a new state secondary boarding school was established in Poděbrady, modeled after foreign institutions. The school prioritized admission for students from families affected by the Nazi occupation. Perhaps the most famous of these students were Václav Havel and Miloš Forman. The Poděbrady grammar school continues to serve students to this day.
There was also an atmosphere of optimism in 1947 during a joint meeting of all the clubs that had been reestablished or newly founded, held in Plzeň. The event was attended by Jan Masaryk and the president of ROTARY INTERNATIONAL, Richard C. Hedke. Also present was a delegation representing around thirty clubs from Northern and Western England, whose members had been preparing the groundwork for renewed connections and joint projects for over a year. They left Plzeň with an invitation to visit Czechoslovakia.
There was active correspondence between clubs. A national conference was planned for May 1948 in Karlovy Vary, and volunteers were also being recruited to support the organizers of the 11th All-Sokol Gathering scheduled for the summer in Prague. However, after the events of February 25, a new government directive required all associations and interest groups to re-register and integrate into the unified system of the National Front, a state-controlled organization. The Rotarians had no interest in operating their clubs under such a framework. As a result, club secretaries began announcing the dissolution of their clubs, citing lack of interest or insufficient membership.
Support from Rotarians abroad for those who left Czechoslovakia after 1948 was entirely individual. Some families managed to establish stable conditions and quickly build new lives in Western Europe, England, or the USA. The events of 1968 in Czechoslovakia did not lead to the revival of Rotary clubs. It wasn’t until the mid-1980s that significant societal change in the Soviet Union and its satellite states began to seem possible.
As early as 1987, the Rotary International headquarters decided to support humanitarian and educational projects in the countries of the Soviet bloc. The Rotary Foundation was tasked with implementing these efforts, and teams made up of experienced Rotarians from existing districts were formed into so-called “Special Extension Areas” (SEA). Responsibility for supporting public-benefit activities in what was then Czechoslovakia was assigned to Rotary clubs in the western part of Austria. With their help, RC Prague was the first club to be reestablished in 1990.
Svatopluk K. Jedlička
Photo: archive of Svatopluka K. Jedličky
Rotary clubs form an international network established in 1905 in Chicago, Illinois (USA), bringing together 1.2 million members from all continents. In the international environment, they focus on the development of civil society in their local communities, support for young talented individuals, fundraising for humanitarian projects, and various interest-based activities. The largest international initiative has been the global eradication of polio. Currently, Rotary clubs operate in a total of 73 cities across the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
