Bohemian poor law in years 1918-1938 and its historical roots

The transformation of the poor law into modern social assistance, that represents one of the free pillars of the contemporary welfare state, has been a very long process. Until the Age of Enlightenment the Church played an expressive role in this respect. Afterwards it came from the state, which created rules of law to insure the considerable part of the population against illness, injury and old age by means of social insurance. Despite all this, there survived the specific group of people that was distinct from the existing system. Hence came the field of activity for municipalities and associations that were in charge of this business. This thesis focuses on development and activity of these organisations. It takes Prague as a model on the municipal scale and the former district of Brandýs nad Labem on the scale of associations' activity