The Czechoslovak Documentation Centre

The Czechoslovak Documentation Centre (Československé dokumentační středisko, o.p.s.) is a non-profit organization registered at the Commercial Court for Bohemia, Prague. It is a non-governmental research and documentation institution concerned with the history of the anti-totalitarian resistance in Czechoslovakia and abroad during the Communist era, 1948–89.

The Centre continues the work of the former Czechoslovak Documentation Centre for Independent Literature, which was located at Schloss Schwarzenberg, Scheinfeld, Germany. The focus of its work is research and comprehensive support for research and also activity popularizing the study of history and increasing historical awareness in society. The word ‘Czechoslovak’ in its name indicates the scope of its work, in the sense both of the history of the struggle for intellectual and political freedom within the borders of the Czechoslovak state as it existed during the Communist period and of the efforts in which the democratic forces of Czech and Slovak society worked closely together.

The Centre collaborates closely with the National Museum, Prague, particularly in cataloguing and making accessible the collections of books and documents which the Centre donated to the Museum. This collection is managed by the Archive of the National Museum as an indivisible unit called the ‘Československé dokumentační středisko 1948–1989’. From October 2017 the Czechoslovak Documentation Centre has its seat in the New Building of the National Museum.

The CSDS is a founding member of the International Samizdat [Research] Association (IS[R]A), Budapest.

The work and operation of the Centre are funded by grants awarded in public competitions and also from private sponsors.