C R O A T I A:
Coffee with the President
Saša Cvijetić
Croatia is both a political scientist's paradise and nightmare: a paradise, thanks to the remarkable political phenomena taking place; a nightmare, due to the impossibility of predicting their outcome. The victory of Stipe Mesić in the first round of presidential elections illustrates the paradox.

I N T E R V I E W:
Click Icon
Andrew Stroehlein
In just a few short years, 25-year-old Ivo Lukačovič has created an impressive Internet empire and is now one of the richest people in the Czech Republic. He is also bursting with ideas about political power and the future shape of Czech society. But like so many Czechs of his generation, he shies away from political life.

C Z E C H   R E P U B L I C:
If you prick us, do we not bleed?
Jan Čulík
The plight of Czech Roma attempting to find asylum in the UK is well known to British audiences. However, Britain's Channel Four screened a documentary on Saturday night investigating the conditions they left behind.

C o n f e r e n c e    T a l k

This week's theme: Jewish Communities in Central and Eastern Europe
A U S T R I A: Is There Life after Haider? Magali Perrault From 1945 until the mid-1980s, the traditional anti-Semitism of the Austrians seemed to have disappeared, but the rise of Jörg Haider and his recent electoral success have reawakened the fears of the Jewish community and forced it to ponder its future.	P O L A N D: A Complicated Coexistence Joanna Rohozinska Nowhere is the history of Jews in Central Europe more hotly debated than in Poland, and although scholarly discussions have largely moved on from negative stereotypes and misconceptions, public perceptions in Poland have not.

M A C E D O N I A: Heritage under Threat Zhidas Daskalovski Macedonia has had a Jewish community for ages, but few remained after the Bulgarian expulsions during World War II. Today, their heritage and continued presence in the Balkans is still threatened.	H U N G A R Y: Remembering Not to Forget Gusztáv Kosztolányi The Nazis sent most of Budapest's Jews to their deaths just days before the arrival of the Red Army. On Thursday 27 January 1999, Hungary presented her plans for the remembrance of those events.
From the CER Archives: Bringing up Jews in Bohemia Matthew Roth A new generation of Czechs is turning to Orthodox Judaism. Confronting Jewishness Peter Krasztev Young Jews from the post-Holocaust "third generation." See also parts 2 and 3.

Kinoeye: Sándor Sára is not a name which is well-known to UK cinephiles. However, a recent retrospective in London should do much to bolster the reputation of this multitalented Hungarian who has had resounding successes as a cinematographer and director of fiction and documentaries. To cap it all, for the last seven years he has been president of Duna TV, the Hungarian satellite channel which won a UNESCO award for its cultural output.

RETROSPECTIVE: The Poetics of Nature, the Politics of Change Andrew J Horton Sára has been a harsh critical observer of life under the Communist regime . Surprisingly, this approach has been combined with a lyrical eye for landscape and beauty.

INTERVIEW: The Eye Speaks Andrew J Horton In an exclusive interview, Sára talks to CER about his work both behind and away from the camera.

Books and Literature

B O O K   R E V I E W:
Wilhelm Dichter, School of the Godless
Justyna Sobolewska
Wilhelm Dichter’s God’s Horse was one of the major literary events of 1996. The sequel, School of the Godless, set in Warsaw in the late 1940s and early 1950s, is even more interesting.

B O O K   R E V I E W:
Benjamin Kuras, Nebýt Golema, Rabbi Löw, židovství a češství
Robert Řehák
This book is not about the Golem, as one might assume, but about Rabbi Löw, about Czech identity, as the subtitle suggests, and most of all, the book is about the author’s reflections on the Judaism as such. The portrait of Löw, however, is marred by the author's manner of presentation and by the absence of any serious research into primary sources.

S U P P L E M E N T:
The CER Book Shop:
Books about Central and Eastern Europe
Have a look at CER's list of books on the region - all available from Amazon.com. The updated list is spread across several pages and contains many new offerings.

M   u   s   i   c

S U P P L E M E N T:
The CER Music Shop
In co-operation with Amazon.com, Central Europe Review offers you this on-line shopping supplement.

O n   D i s p l a y

EVENTS: Coming up in the UK Andrew J Horton Details of selected Central and East European cultural events in the UK over the next few weeks.	EVENTS: Coming up in the USA Karen M Laun Central and East European events in the United States in the coming weeks.
EVENTS: Poland Cultural Review Wojtek Kosc A look at the latest cultural events and culture news in Poland.