Western Foreigners Living in Czechoslovakia during the Normalization Era

This thesis based on an archive research as well as interviews with eleven interviewees describes aspects of every day routine in the lives of western foreigners in Czechoslovakia during the nineteen-seventies and eighties. Testimonies of the interviewees are set in context where a special emphasis is placed on legislation and internal regulations mostly of bodies of the Ministry of Interior concerning Czechoslovak visa policy, the status of foreigner in relation to Czechoslovakian citizens (marriages) and the police apparatus (observing, tailing and monitoring). Based on the testimonies and the archive material it can be concluded that the Czechoslovakian regime did not see the western foreigners as a priori ideological enemies and tolerated their presence in Czechoslovakia. Bureaucratic procedures, however, were set in such a fashion that the foreigners could be closely observed. A fear of not having their stay extended, resp. being expelled, often led those interviewees who wanted to live in Czechoslovakia permanently to subconsciously avoid conflicts with the regime. All interviewees are critical of the former regime and are able to accurately characterize its nature and its main negative aspects, but at the same time they perceived positively certain aspects of life in the brought-into-line..