German place names; Czechoslovakia; post-war degermanization; discussion about renaming; language aspects; opinion journalism

The paper explores how the topic of German place names (toponyms) was viewed in Czech opinion journalism in 1945 and 1946. At that time, during the removal (expulsion) of German-speakers from Czechoslovakia, the “degermanization” process (also sometimes referred to as “rebohemization”) culminated. In connection with these events, German place names were also removed. Their change and replacement were discussed among scholars (geographers, linguists, historians); however, primarily they were a subject of interest for non-scholars (politicians, journalists, the general public). The research presented in this paper is based on six sources – the national daily Rudé právo (the main newspaper of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia), Kulturní politika (a weekly publication providing space for free discussions on politics, culture, and society), and local periodicals focusing on newly settled areas (mostly the Sudetenland) – Stráž severu, Šumavský hraničář, Hraničář, and Moravský jih. The examined topics include the ways in which German place names were perceived and presented in the press, the inadmissibility of German names in the Czech landscape, the justifications that were given at the time for the process of renaming, and the forms of name changes (renamings, public competitions, etc.).